The Remnant Solution (DISCONTINUED)
by SardonicEffigy
Summary: Life as a soldier is difficult, life as a Spartan more so. Fighting becomes all you know, and Fireteam Delta were quite skilled at it, but when they're tossed out of their dimension by a Forerunner artifact fighting becomes less important. The world they land on is different, untouched by war. Will they be able to cope and adapt, or will they lose themselves in peace? DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Authors** **Note: Alright, here it finally is. This story is my first, and so far only, piece of work to actually be followed through with… when it comes to writing. This story is meant to focus very heavily on a darker and out of combat view. That may change as the story evolves but for now that's the plan.**

 **I would like to take this moment to thank my editor(s).**

 **Kriegslied, a close friend of mine and the person who did most of the corrections and served as a draft board to bounce ideas off.**

 **GeneralMayhemYT, again a close friend of mine and someone who really helped rejig the first chapter, recommending a re-write that was 4 thousand words...UGH. It is far better than what it was and I appreciate the help, just...so much typing.**

 **Gingerscape, again a close friend of mine who helped to get me through my early days of writing and serving as a good grounded state for the initial work. His procrastination knows no bounds...dick. _I approve this message._**

 **All three of them are working on their own stuff and if you have the time I recommend taking a look… after you finish mine of course.**

 **That's all I have to say for now. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Sincerely SardonicEffigy**

* * *

 _ **Office of Naval Intelligence Black Site Charium**_

"Are you sure we should be sending them? They have an excellent service history, apart from a few incidents, and they are loyal to the UNSC."

"We have two problems that need taken care of immediately, do we not?"

"Yes, but I feel this may be extreme, we're throwing away a Spartan team and a damn good one at that."

"We will either be rid of one or the other, a win-win."

"It really seems like a waste of resources though..."

"It is my call, and we will be sending Fireteam Delta, is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am, it's just that it was an order from command. They did their job."

"That is irrelevant, they know too much for their own good."

The male officer in his black fatigues saluted, picked up his data pad, and left the dark room lit only by the flickering of dozens of computer screens. Each one displaying a hidden camera feed, the one of particular interest however, was the main screen. On the display was a complete summary of every mission that the members of Delta had ever been on, including the ones that never happened.

 _It's a shame really, MacDavis can mix an excellent martini._

* * *

 _ **Fireteam Delta Quaters**_

 _ **Alessandra West**_

The cracking of glass against metal brought Alessandra out of her slumber to see her teammate, and closest friend, Benjamin MacDavis standing in Fire Team Delta's quarter's doorway drunk. Nothing unusual for the off duty Spartan. She watched with one eye as Ben walked into the quarters still head to toe in his armor, reeking of alcohol. Aless had tried once or twice to pry into Ben's psyche to understand what was going on, only to be stopped by a mix of Ben's unwillingness and her own indifference. In the end she decided it was best to let him drink it out during his own down time so he would be, at the very least, mission ready.

"Take that! You filthy Unggoy!"

Ben's words came out slurred as his attention focused solely on the bottle he had just thrown onto the floor, seeming not to notice that he wasn't alone in the room. Ben walked over to his own bed and fell onto it without bothering to take off any of his armor, had the bed been on a frame and not an outlet of the wall it likely would have collapsed.

"That's what you deserve"

Ben's voice carried no louder than a whisper as he drifted off into a drunken slumber. Aless looked to the clock on the wall which read 0136.

 _Might as well get in an extra hour, not like I was sleeping soundly anyways._

Aless waited to make sure Ben was asleep to sit up. She paused a moment and looked over at Ben.

 _Wonder why he was drinking this time?_ _None of my business I guess._

Aless stretched and got out from under her covers. Her feet landed softly on the cold metal floor, careful not to make a sound, Aless got up and went towards the bathroom to change. She stepped out in her armor's black undersuit.

The air in the corridor was no warmer than that in her quarters, she was already regretting getting out from under her warm covers. She headed down the corridor towards one of the many workout facilities on the Infinity that at such a late hour would be mostly empty, just the way she liked it. The door to the workout room swooshed open revealing the large empty room. Mostly empty... that was.

 _Wonder what they are doing here so late...or early as it is?_

Aless was referring to the group of six men in ODST fatigues working out in the corner, she chose to ignore them and made for the set of doors that lead to the Spartan armor stations.

 _Hope one of the engineers are here to help me get my suit on, don't want to get in trouble for hacking in again._

The door opened swiftly into a larger, usually brightly lit, room. At such an odd time in the Infinity's day schedule the room was kept quite dim, except for a man sitting at a desk in the corner who, with the aid of a desk lamp, appeared to be reading. Aless approached and caught a look at the title of the book he was reading.

 _Sun Tzu, The Art of War._

"May I ask what you're doing here, ma'am?" he asked "This section isn't meant to be used between work cycles" The man sitting at the desk didn't look up from his book.

"I was hoping to get my armor on so I could do some cardio and distance workouts, the usual attendee never seemed to mind" _Not that he was usually awake, but you don't need to know that._

"Well..." the man finally looked up from his book to see Aless "I guess it wouldn't be to much trouble." The man got up from his desk, set his book down, and made his way towards the rest of the facility.

"What's your code number?"

"C412, sorry to interrupt your reading."

"It's no problem, I can only read Mandarin for so long before my eyes start to hurt."

"You were reading in the original dialect?" Aless asked "Could I borrow your copy when you're done?"

"You can leave with it if you want, I've already read it a few times." the man shrugged his shoulders a little. "Personally, while it's fascinating, I find that it doesn't apply as well nowadays, with space travel and all that. Still good principles, don't get me wrong, just some of the details are fuzzy when you're looking at a galactic wide battlefield, but what do I know." The man turned to face Aless, and stuck his hand out. "Name's Daniel."

"Alessandra West, but Aless for short." she shook his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Aless."

The rest of the long walk was in silence, something she could enjoy. When they reached her suit's station Daniel gestured for her to step into the center of the circle, he pressed some buttons and the machine whirled to life. Aless felt her armour begin to be attached to her undersuit. Piece by piece, her white, modified Mark VI Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor was situated and secured onto her body. While the traditional Mark VI was far worse than anything that the modern Spartans used, this was no traditional set. Everything from the exoskeleton to the shields had been revamped, redesigned, and improved by not only her, but also a weapons fanatic.

 _Ben, you may be certifiably insane, but I got to hand it to you, you know your stuff._

Aless felt the shields connect to the suits power systems and spark to life, she turned and picked up her helmet from the pedestal it was sitting on. After her armor and helmet had been put on, Aless stood at nearly seven feet tall, cutting an intimidating figure to most.

"Thanks Daniel." She turned and made for the door she had come in at.

"Don't forget your book, don't think I could read another character." Aless was looking forward to reading it, not that she would ever tell anyone about her love for books, everyone already knew, but she didn't need to say anything.

Aless left the facility and began to run laps around the gym in her half ton suit of armor. With the help of the suit's exoskeleton and her augmented muscle, the suit might as well have weighed nothing. Spartan Three training covered a broad range, all in an attempt to create the perfect soldier. She had never scored any lower than the top ten percent of her company, a fact she still took pride in. She was, however, only looking for a short warm up, and opted out after only a few dozen laps. Aless made to move for the door and head towards the gun range, until an ODST stepped in front of her.

"You're the one from Delta, right?" The ODST still had sweat pouring down his face from his workout, speaking in-between heavy breaths.

"I am from Fireteam Delta, yes."

"Are you and that Benny guy _together_?" The man put extra emphasis on the _together_ part.

"Together? I don't know what you mean." _Of course we are together, were on the same team._

"Well there's a lot of rumors that you two are partners. If that's not true, I guess that means you're still on the market." The ODST appeared to have something in one of his eyes, because he kept closing just the one.

"We are partners, sorta, it just depends on the situation. Sticking with one partner limits your freedom, why would someone do that?" _Hell, depending on the situation, we would all go solo._

"Wait, what... _oh_." the ODST began to laugh until he could no longer stand. "They weren't kidding, you really are clueless. Classic."

Aless pushed the ODST to the side and walked out of the gym.

 _ODSTs can be really strange._

Aless spent the rest of the walk to the gun range trying to think of what the ODST was laughing so hard about; she concluded it was an inside joke. She reached the door to the range and was about to enter, until a man stopped her.

"You're Ben's teammate, right?" The man in question had a deep, soft voice, but the man's face was far less friendly. He had glasses halfway down his nose, and eyes with dark bags and lines under them, clear signs of sleep deprivation. The man hunched his neck and head slightly, even then still achieving a well above average height. Nothing to rival a Spartan, but still tall.

"Yes." _What did you do this time, Ben?_

"Can I talk to you in private? It should only take a moment."

"Lead the way."

The man gave her a friendly nod, then turned and walked down the hallway, looking over his shoulder before stopping and speaking again.

"The lounge should be empty this time of the day, it would allow us to talk in private." he then continued down the hall, Aless followed.

"So what's this about?"

The man stopped "It…" he took a moment to think "We should really wait until we're in a private section." And then continued down the hall.

The short walk to the lounge was quite after that. When they arrived the man checked to make sure they were alone, and turned to offer Aless his hand.

"My name's Dakota." Aless, paused for a moment before shaking his hand.

"Alessandra West. Now, mind telling me what this is about?"

"It's about Ben." Dakota took his hand back and walked to the bar.

"What did he do this time?" Ben's habits, while making him popular among the standard soldiers, and even some of the officers, had him labeled a troublemaker.

"He didn't do anything." The man visibly struggled to find the right words. "I'm concerned about him."

"Don't worry, he won't do anything stupid." Aless recalled several of the discussions she had with officers over the past couple years.

"That's... not what I meant." The man began to mix something from the bottles he had grabbed from the bar. "I am concerned he might… how do I say this... I think something is wrong with Ben."

"Well... Ben has always been a little weird, nothing to really worry about though."

"Not that kinda wrong. I work as one of the cooks on the Infinity and as a bartender in my off time. I actually serve Ben quite often and I've noticed something over the past few days, usually Ben comes in and drinks socially, but not for the past week or so. Ben is drinking to forget something, and I thought you might know what."

"I… I'm sorry, I can't think of anything, Ben doesn't trust me enough to confide in." Dakota's face twisted into a look of confusion.

"But I thought...well with the way he talks about you... never mind, just keep your eyes and ears open please, a lot of people like Ben, I don't wanna see him hurtin' like that, it is bad for business after all." Dakota gave a forced chuckle.

One thought came to Aless' mind

"What does he say?"

"Sorry?" Dakota seemed to snap out of a daydream when Aless spoke up.

"You said he talks about me, what does he say?"

"Oh, well um... just how much he respects you and... How much he… likes spending time with you I guess, he's usually drunk, so most of it I don't keep in mind."

"I'll ask Ben if anything's wrong later. Will that be all?"

"That… do you really think you should be so up front about it?" Dakota's eyebrows scrunched up, "If he wanted to talk, wouldn't he have done that already?"

"Never underestimate the power of asking, but if you want, I could try to take a more subtle approach?"

"I... personally feel that may yield better results."

"Sure thing, I won't ask him up front." Aless planned on asking him upfront about it.

 _Why dance around when you can brute force your way through, right?_

"Thank you, by the way. Some people were starting to get concerned about him."

Aless nodded and left before he could say anything more, heading to the food court for an early meal. Her walk was quiet, but her mind was busy at work trying to understand what their conversation had really been about.

 _He has no reason to care for Ben, so what's his motive? Are the higher ups worried Ben's performance might be slipping and sent Dakota to check if it was some kind of team dynamic?_

Aless' thoughts kept dancing through her mind, but none of them seemed to make sense.

 _Are they planning on removing him from Delta?_

That thought scared Aless, more than she could rationally explain. The topic of her thoughts switched, from what she and Dakota had talked about to why it bothered her so much.

 _If it's what they want then that's for the best, right?_

Aless had always been one to follow orders, never deviating from the mission plan, or even so much as disobeying an order; she was the perfect soldier. She avoided getting attached so when the people around her died she wouldn't be broken up about it, Aless didn't make the mistake of getting attached to anyone; the perfect soldier. Duty always came first.

 _The perfect soldier._

Aless' thoughts were thrown aside as she entered the cafeteria. The Infinity had several to avoid any getting crowded and so people wouldn't need to go too far to get food. The one closest to Delta's quarters was one of the smaller, thankfully quieter, cafeterias allowing her to get her food in peace. Aless grabbed her food and sat down at one of the tables off to the side; it was solitary and quite, exactly how she liked it. She failed to notice Jax approach until he set his tray down. Aless was slightly startled at how he had managed to sneak up on her but quickly wrote it off as her being distracted.

"Hello Jax, feeling well today?" Aless had come to know Jax, and more usefully, how to read him despite his mute nature.

"..." Jax nodded, to which Aless took as both a greeting and him saying he was well. Jax than gestured to her.

"I'm well. A little tired thanks to Ben, but fine." Jax's head bobbed up and down in a sign of understanding.

Jax and Aless both turned their attention to the food in front of them, choosing to eat rather than talk, not that Jax could have talked anyways. The table was quite once again, until a certain someone came in yelling.

"Where is he? He's done! I'm gonna get him court-marshaled!" James Roberts, Fireteam Delta's leader, was shouting across the mostly empty cafeteria in their direction. Aless looked to Jax, who offered a shrug in reply.

"Alessandra! Have you seen Benjamin?" James covered the short distance at a swift paced walk.

"He was back in the room, drunk on his bed."

 _Sorry Ben, you deserve it... probably... well more than me that is... probably._

"I was just in the room, he wasn't there. If you're covering for him agai-" James didn't get a chance to finish before the man in question strode through the doorway, nearly falling over his own steps.

 _Great, he's still drunk._

"Care to explain yourself?" James spoke like he was disciplining a child.

 _Not that far off._

Aless reprimanded herself for thinking something so rude about possibly the only "friend" she had.

"Um... did... did I do sumpin?" Ben's words came out slurred, as he plopped himself down at the table with Aless and Jax.

"You know damn well what you did!" James slammed a fist on the table in frustration.

"Do I though?" Ben's voice took on the familiar cocky tone he reserved for James.

"You assaulted three officers!"

 _Oh... that's actually quite bad. Dammit Ben._

"Oh yeah... huh that was pretty fun." Ben let off a soft chuckle at the memory.

"You nearly broke one of their arms!" James's face looked a mix of disappointment and frustration.

"Nearly? Huh, I thought I broke that, ah well, I can rectify that next time." Ben stiffened for a second as James picked him up by his chest piece before relaxing in the man's tight hold.

"What you doin' sarge? Not something against the rules, surely."

Ben knew exactly the words to use to make James both more angry and back off. James practically threw Ben back into his seat and stormed out of the cafeteria, the bemused looks of the people who saw it dwindled fast when they saw the looks Aless gave them.

"Is he gone?" Ben held his head down to the table, and waited for someone to speak up.

"Yes Ben, he's gone."

Ben stood up and walked over to get himself some food, not swaying or staggering on the way there or back.

"That was an act, wasn't it?"

"What? No. I got over my intoxication already, augmented liver and what not, I would never lie to a superior officer. Frankly, I'm offended by such a comment." He replied sarcastically.

For Spartan IV's like Ben, the concept of getting drunk was still a viable option, not the case for earlier Spartan models such as the III's, which Aless was. She was unable to get intoxicated; at the very most she could get buzzed when she really tried. Ben, however, had a knack for getting over hangovers and sobering up in such a short time that it seemed almost impossible. With the state Aless last saw him in, passed out drunk, he should have needed at least several hours of sleep, not, at most, a single hour.

"What did you do anyways?" Aless could admit to being slightly curious as to what Ben had done.

"Apparently, only _almost_ broke an officer's arm. Personally, I thought it was broken, then again I was drunk."

"Yeah I got that bit, I meant more why you almost broke someone's arm."

"Oh, they were saying some rather... unsavory things, that drunk me did not appreciate." Ben was moving his arms around wildly as he spoke.

"What were they saying?" Aless knew the difference between drunk Ben and sober Ben, sober Ben was difficult to make act on anger in any violent sort of way, drunk Ben was a lot less tolerant.

* * *

 _ **Benjamin MacDavis**_

 _ **Infinity Cafeteria**_

Ben was trying to decide how to answer Aless' question, he knew it couldn't be the truth. The truth was that those officers had been mocking his team, Aless specifically. He was usually willing to overlook stuff like that, Delta had a reputation after all. Ben was about to leave when the officer, the one whose arm Ben thought he broke, dropped a comment comparing Aless to a dog people would train for war, and that was enough for Ben. Normally, Ben would have told the truth, he hated lying, but he knew that Aless would blame herself if he said anything about it, so he lied.

"I can't remember, must have been important." Even Ben knew that sounded like a weak excuse with the time it took for him to answer, thankfully Aless wasn't very perceptive when it came to social actions.

"You nearly broke his arm, and can't remember what it was about? Ben you really need to stop drinking." Ben was tempted to tell her the truth to make her feel bad.

 _Never tell me to stop drinking! It's nice to not have to think, or dream, for a while._

Ben liked to imagine he could have said some snarky comment back to Aless to make her feel bad, but he couldn't, not to Aless. Ben had spent too much time with her. The rumors that circulated were wrong, he was not in a relationship with Aless, but not for lack of trying. Ben had pulled every trick he knew, nothing worked. Well, nothing that worked on any other girl. He brought it up with her once.

Once.

The argument that unfolded was long and tedious. Aless said a relationship was impossible due to her augmentations and history, most of which Ben had no idea about, and that he should simply forget about it. Ben said she couldn't know for sure because she never tried, then she would loop back to the augmentations in a never ending circle.

Ben had given up. At the very least Aless made a good friend, even if she didn't really understand the concept of friendship. Ben realized both Jax and Aless were staring at him as he just sat there not saying anything.

"I like alcohol." _Not the best argument but... fuck it_

"That's partly the pr-" Aless did not finish as she jumped up from the table and saluted towards the door, Jax did the same. Ben looked over his shoulder and saw Commander Palmer standing there, Ben gave a half salute from his sitting position.

"At ease." The commander waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. "I wanted to inform you of a new mission opportunity."

"In person? What's the occasion?" Ben could practically feel the cold glare from Aless as he spoke.

"I wanted to stress the fact that you are not required to take the mission, but you are the only team that meets all the requirements. Where's Roberts?"

"He stormed off somewhere, don't know why. But did you really have to ask? Of course we'll take the mission."

"You should probably discuss this with your team first. Don't you think?" The commander's voice, remarkably, did not sound frustrated.

"Trust me, they want the mission. Right guys?" Ben turned to the other two sitting at the table

"Ben would be right on this account, we'll take the mission." Aless agreed.

Jax nodded.

"I really thought I would need to convince you, you did just get back from a four-month deployment after all. Are you sure you don't require time to rest?"

"Trust me ma'am, this team is getting stressed having someplace safe to sleep at night. No danger, where's the fun?" Ben shrugged and stood up.

"And when will we be shipped out?"

"In about twelve hours. The mission came out of nowhere, and is marked urgent."

"In that case, I'm gonna go get some shut eye, then gather my gear."

The commander nodded, and left the room.

"I'm gonna go crash for the next nine hours, you guys coming?" Ben turned to his two squad-mates.

"You didn't even eat anything." Aless looked down at his plate.

"Well of course not, I still have my helmet on. How would I eat though this?" Ben knocked a fist against his visor.

"You could have taken it off." Aless reached down and picked her own helmet up and attatched it back atop her armor.

Aless turned to look at Jax, who shrugged and then turned and walked off.

"How are you two not dead from lack of food, water, or sunlight? You guys barley leave your armor, even when you sleep."

"To be fair, I take my helmet off to drink, you just don't go to bars with me." Ben recalled the handful of times she and him had gone out and done anything. Ben didn't mind staying in their quarters playing some of Aless' classic games, or watching some of her old movies, it was just good to go out and socialize sometimes, Aless' social skills could definitely use some practice.

The three members of delta left and made for their room, Ben was not looking forward to the night. With him officially no longer drunk that meant he would be able to dream, not a comforting thought to the avid alcoholic.

 _Wonder which one it'll be about this time?_

* * *

 _ **9 hours later**_

 _ **Infinity corridor**_

 _ **Alessandra West**_

Alessandra walked towards the armoury looking to get her gear as quickly as possible so she could get back to her room and finish her film, not that she hadn't already seen it a dozen times, but she always hated being interrupted mid movie. She had hoped to finish it before deployment but was running out of time. Aless rounded the corner to the armory to see a familiar face talking with the quartermaster. Talking might have been too polite, the Spartan looked rather annoyed and was on the verge of shouting.

"Well how long is it gonna take? We deploy in 3 hours!"

"I'm not sure if it will be done by then….but we have plenty of repla-" The sweating man behind the counter didn't get a chance to finish before Aless interrupted.

"What seems to be the problem, Benny?" Aless felt uncomfortable saying his name like that.

"The Quartermaster here says my gun is busted. _My_ Jezebel, the girl I spent _hours_ modifying!" The Spartan didn't even look at Aless, just staring at the young man behind the counter.

"When did you break Jezebel?" Ben loved that thing, and he spent hours, if not days working on it; the idea he would break it was absurd. Aless realized her question was just as absurd only after asking it.

"I didn't break her!" Ben replied, the anger palpable. "The bastards dropped it while they were fuckin' around with it!"

 _And there is the shouting._

Aless didn't get attached to her weapons. Sure, Ben had had it for a long time, but it was an older model that had been replaced several years ago. She had learned to avoid bringing it up unless she wanted to hear a three hour talk about how weapons are an extension of one's blah blah blah. The lecture always went the same, usually ending with him dragging her to the workshop to do some work on her weapons in an attempt to "bond" with them... Aless didn't get it, but the help with her weapon maintenance was appreciated.

"Sir, we have plenty of replacements you can use, if you want." The Quartermaster replied sarcastically, not quite realizing his mistake until it was too late.

"That's not the point, asshole!" Ben slammed his fist into the metal wall next to the window one would stand at to see the quartermaster through, leaving a sizable dent in the wall.

"She is a custom M247 GPMG! Twice the ammo capacity with a custom-made barrel designed to lessen overheating! She has a fuckin' energy bayonet strapped to her undercarriage! If Jezebel isn't ready for our next mission, I swear I will-"

"He gets it Ben!" Aless's voice had enough sternness to make Ben understand she was being serious while being able to avoid raising her own voice.

"I'll just fix her myself... hand her here" Ben's attention was flashing between Aless and the man behind the counter.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, it's already being run through the computer."

 _Apparently this guy also doesn't get the attachment Ben has to his weapon._

"Fine." Ben stepped back from the counter and started towards the door before the quartermaster stopped him.

"It should be ready for your mission just don't quote me on it. The computer shouldn't have a problem with giving me the instructions." The man behind the counter really was trying, but he had made the mistake of getting between Ben and his Jezebel, and Aless knew.

 _No one messes with Jezebel. No one…_

"Thanks jackass… Just be gentle." Ben followed that with a wink before leaving the armoury, not that either of them could see it through Ben's helmet, but Aless knew he had winked, he always winked. Aless also knew he was probably heading to the weapon workshop to blow off some steam after hearing what happened to his weapon. He was quite predictable when he was angry.

"That man has issues." The quartermaster said boldly, snapping Aless back to the moment.

"I'm taking it you're new?" The way he talked you could tell he hadn't spent much time with Spartans, let alone the ones on the Infinity. Delta had a reputation that usually preceded them; take for instance Ben's attachment to his guns.

"Just got placed here, my first day actually. Thought it would be cool to work with Spartans and all, but that guy was a dick; all we wanted to do was try it out, what's the big deal?"

 _Oh, this man has no idea._

Aless took a deep breath trying to keep herself from punching this guy in the gut.

"I mean, so what if we dropped the thing? It's just an old gun with some slight modifications... nothing major." The man looked genuinely pleased with himself at his statement, not realizing the trouble he was getting himself into.

"He's really a nice guy if you get to know him, just a little too sentimental for his own good." Aless was gritting her teeth trying to make sure this guy didn't end up in the med bay on his first day. "He may act like and say that he's a dick, but he has a big heart." The words had a calming impact on Aless as they came out making it easier to restrain herself, but it would be best to change the subject.

"Anyways, I need to get my gear, should be in locker C412"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, no problem." The man disappeared for a minute behind the counter in the back were Aless couldn't see him before coming back with a medium sized metal container.

"Ok, let's see here…. one M392 modified." He said handing over the white DMR with the scope missing off the top, replaced by an iron sight and a holographic one on the side.

 _Not too good at long range, but that's why we have Jax._

Aless attached the rifle to her back before reaching out to get the next items the quartermaster was giving her.

"Two modified M6Cs."

The M6Cs both had extended mags custom built by her and Ben a few months back, with doctor sights on the top and a flashlight on one of the pistols. Ben had insisted that the sights were to be tactical and not a bad joke about her being the team's medic… she didn't believe him. The pistols had a white tint to them that Ben had said would help make them identifiable if they got mixed up with someone else's guns, because the modifications weren't enough. Aless was pretty sure it was so they would match the DMR and her armor while giving her her own custom look. She couldn't care less about that kinda stuff but she did care what Ben thought and he said it would look good, so she took them.

"And one Type-25 Covenant plasma pistol." He said handing over the small purple weapon.

While relatively weak, they did have a few useful aspects to them, such as the charging mechanic allowing you to disable vehicles, and hers wasn't standard issue. It was modified to have far lower power unless it was charged. The idea behind this being that it would now be safe to use to cauterize a wound on the fly... That's the idea anyway... She hadn't gotten the opportunity to use it in any serious situation yet, probably a good thing.

"I suppose I should grab Ben's gear too so we can avoid another confrontation. Should be in locker C094." Aless knew that Ben would respect her wishes and avoid a fight, she wasn't so sure the soldier would. Not like Ben would lose, he was a Spartan after all, but he would be in for another report and a long talk from James. Quite frankly, Aless didn't want to have to serve as intermediate for that again.

"That's… probably for the best. Let me go get the locker." He said, picking up the now empty locker and carrying it into the back. He returned with a heavier locker that made a loud thud when he set it down.

"Check to see if it's all there... well except the GPMG. I'm gonna go start on that by the way. The ammo for your weapons should be over there." He said, gesturing towards some lockers on the other side of the armory before heading into the back again.

Aless opened the locker to check and make sure Ben's stuff was in there.

 _It's not like the soldier would be stupid enough to pull that twice, but it never hurts to check._

She opened the locker pulling out the green MLRS-1 HGL Hydra with the word "BULLDOG" carved into the side, not really custom aside from some paint, the name carved in the side, and the strap that allowed Ben to carry it slung over his back. She set it down and pulled out the green M301 Grenade Launcher Ben had dubbed "Demise". The launcher was pretty standard, save the paint, name carved into the side, and the large plasma emitter that sat at the end acting as an energy based bayonet.

The bayonet took hours to get into a working shape, and served as Ben's melee weapon when he had the launcher in hand. While the bayonet on Jezebel was bigger and more powerful, this one served as the test build for it. Trying to tear apart an energy sword and keep it working proved to be a challenge and took about 9 months and a half-dozen swords to get the smaller one to work, and even then the original had almost no charge, after several tests however the new sword had a battery that took power from the Spartan's armor at only a minimal power loss. Next, she pulled out the two green M363 Sticky Detonators named "Mustang" and "Sally", name recommendations that came from Aless. Last was Ben's combat knife, a standard UNSC knife with a custom hilt made with brass knuckles serving as part of the hilt itself.

After putting the weapons back in their case. Aless walked over to the lockers to fill up her duffel bag with her and Ben's ammo. After collecting the supplies, she made her way for the door heading to the Infinity's weapons workshop to give Ben his gear.

* * *

 _ **Infinity Weapons workshop**_

 _ **Jackson Rodriguez**_

The weapons workshop was a place someone could go to work in peace and clear their head, a place that was quiet, save the sounds of people modifying or repairing their weapons... unless Ben was there.

"Whoa, Black Betty Bam-ba-Lam, Whoa Black Betty Bam-ba-Lam. Black Betty had a child, Bam-ba-Lam, The damn thing gone wild, Bam-Ba-Lam, She said-" Ben had insisted on installing a speaker in the only weapon workshop available so he could have " _entertainment_ " while he worked, Jax was sure he only did it because he was bored.

Jax was actively blocking out Ben's less than accurate singing by focusing on the task at hand, his SRS99-AM sniper rifle. The loading mechanism was catching and the barrel was starting to wear. He had spent three hours trying to get the new barrel attached. While the standard SRS99 was definitely a sniper, Jax had made some modifications to his, namely removing the standard 30'' barrel and replacing it with a smaller reinforced 8'' barrel. Jax had also removed the bipod from the underbarrel and modified the scope to be only a 2x zoom, while not very suitable for long range anymore, it served very effective for close and medium range engagements. Jax still carried a standard SRS99C-S2 AM for long range and actual sniping, but his 99-AM was without a doubt his pride and joy.

Jax had spent plenty of time behind the scope to know what he preferred, a weapon meant to kill from a mile away adapted to be more personal, Jax thought it served as a pretty good metaphor for himself. The rounds had to be bumped down a few calibers so they weren't overkill and so he could fire more than four rounds before he had to reload, a slight drawback but worth the trade off. The modified rifle was his main weapon with a special fixture on the side meant for his energy sword to sit if he wanted a fixed bayonet, though rarely used it was still a good idea, even if Jax preferred to use the sword as just that, a sword.

"Man I love that song, so how goes the repairs Jax." Apparently the song had finished while Jax was focusing, and Ben had finally decided to take notice of him.

"..."

"You know one of these days you're gonna actually have to speak to one of us, right?"

"..."

"But that is not this day... well mind if I help with your rifle there."

Jax shrugged and handed the 99-AM over to Ben. One thing had become clear in the time Jax had been a part of Delta, and that was that Ben knew guns. Sure Jax had modified his and could keep most the maintenance up, he was mostly used to installing pre-built modifications or only slightly adapting them, not really making them from scratch or a custom build; that was Ben's specialty. If he could get the barrel to fit then great, if not Jax had one hour and 46 minutes to either fix it or replace it for their upcoming op, preferably the former.

"Well here's your problem, the lining is stripped along the holding bolt for the barrel, and the clips got some scarring from backfire in the chamber." Ben took all of 10 seconds to find the problem.

"..."

"Don't worry should be easy, just need to replace the bolt, and maybe the washer, and just grab a new clip. May I?"

Jax shrugged and gestured towards the clock

"Don't worry should only be like ten minutes." Ben had gotten rather good at determining what Jax was trying to say, after countless hours together in the workshop a somewhat friendly demeanor was common among them, unlike between Jax and the rest of the team or anyone on the Infinity really. Jax did all he could to avoid anyone, whether that be by hiding away in the workshop, or the gym all day. He had no problem with the people on the Infinity, he just liked to be alone. His teammates were the only ones that ever had exceptions to that rule, usually Ben, sometimes Aless, never James.

Ben finished the repairs after only seven minutes.

"Okay that should be good, try to do this more often and you won't have this problem again."

"..."

"No thanks necessary, it was my pleasure."

"..."

"One of these days Jax, one of these days." Ben said joking, he was very aware Jax couldn't speak. He never meant it to be mean it was just a part of who he was.

"..."

"Just won't hold my breath. I'm gonna head out, see you at the debrief." Ben handed over the rifle before making his way out of the workshop.

Jax packed up his gear and set his rifle on his back, and his sword to his hip. He made his way towards the door only to be stopped by two marines.

"Hey aren't you the sniper for Delta team?" The one nearest the door asked

"Yeah the one that never speaks?" The other man said

 _Oh great, here we go again._

"So, is it true that you killed like 60 covies during one drop back during the war?" Asked the marine.

"No no no I hear it was like 80." The other man asked.

Jax just stood there while he waited for the two men to finish arguing.

 _For the record it was 94, on an abandoned planet, with nothing more than a combat knife and a scavenged energy sword._

He still had both, and brought them on every mission. The sword had proven to be one of the best pieces of equipment he ever grabbed off the field.

"So why do you pull overwatch if you can't speak?" Apparently they had resolved their argument.

"..."

"I mean the person on overwatch has to relay in scout info, how can you do that without talking?" A fair question, not that Jax planned on answering.

"..."

"Wow… you really don't talk... how the _hell_ do you do your job?"

"Pretty damn well, if I say so myself." Alessandra had made her way into the workshop, probably looking for Ben, and judging from the bag she carried she had a few presents for him.

"But how does he relay information… that's like half the job." The technician had a point, Jax acted as both cover and a scout.

 _Looks like the secret is finally out_

"He has a live camera feed coming from his helmet, it ques up whenever Jax wants to report something… or maybe he speaks in morse code… or maybe he's psychic."

 _Or she could fuck with them… either way is acceptable._

"Now get back to work before I report your asses for harassment!"

 _no wonder she and Ben got along so well._

Although this was very clearly an empty threat from Jax's perspective, the soldiers were very clearly not so observant.

"Yes, Ma'am." They saluted then ran out the door.

"Hope they didn't give you to much trouble." Not that Jax cared, or that they could really do anything to bother him, but the thought was nice.

"..."

"Have you seen Ben around." Alessandra was always to the point, Jax respected that… not that he would let anyone know.

"..." Jax gestured towards the door she had just entered through.

"Just missed him huh... did he say where he was heading?"

"..." Jax shrugged his shoulders.

"Thanks Jax, see you at the debrief." Aless moved to the door turning to see Jax following her, parting ways in the corridor

 _One hour and twenty six minutes._

Then Jax would be expected to be at the debrief.

One hour and ten minutes of prep time before he would need to get on his way to the hanger, leaving the sixteen minutes it took to get from the gym to the briefing. Time to get in some laps around the Infinity's gym, this time of the day it would be mostly empty, keeping it quiet since Ben was otherwise occupied. Jax was looking forward to a little time for quietly working out, a retreat from the annoying tendencies of the crew.

* * *

 _ **Delta Quarters**_

 _ **James Roberts**_

James looked over the mission packet commander Palmer had sent him again, committing the details to memory. Mission parameters were simple and straightforward enough, insurrectionist stronghold past the outer colonies. While the packet gave James an idea of what his team would need to bring it was lacking on the finer details, which he would get at the briefing. James looked down at the data pad scrolling before him with basic weapon needs; heavy weapons, covered by Benjamin, Long range cover fire, taken care of by Jackson, while the medic and translator role were jointly covered by Alessandra. The mission date was blacked out as well as its mission goal, which should be told at the briefing, as long as it wasn't classified. James was interrupted by the sound of the room's door opening and Benjamin walking in.

"Howdy Sir, anything interesting on the report?" Benjamin gave a sloppy two-finger salute as he headed for his bed.

"Nothing you won't hear at the meeting." James would rather have Palmer explain anyways. "Where's your gear?" Benjamin had left to go to the armory and collect his gear by 0400 and have it all squared away by 0430,

 _Hard to do that without your guns._

"That basta-! The new quartermaster dropped Jezebel and dented her up, said he might have her ready by mission though." As usual Benjamin had overlooked some key details

"Where's the rest of your gear?"

 _Sure your main is out, but what about the rest of your over-sized armory._

"I... I'm gonna be completely honest, I forgot about those."

 _Of course you did, damn it, Benjamin._

"Well go get the rest squared away before 0430"

"Well if I see that quartermaster again I might beat the shit out of him, especially after what he did to Jezebel." Benjamin probably didn't intend for James to hear this but he did nonetheless.

"You'll do nothing of the sort, if I hear anything like that you'll be on latrine duty for a month!" Benjamin was clearly showing signs of insubordination, according to James.

 _Maybe enough to get him out of my fireteam once and for all... maybe I should let him beat up the quartermaster, a small price to pay._

"You're no fun, Sir." Benjamin made for the door only to stop when it opened and Alessandra came through, carrying what looked like hers and Benjamin's armaments.

"Hey Ben, I was looking for you, got your gear right here. Also the quartermaster says sorry." James was not a fan of Alessandra's attitude towards Benjamin. She was his second and he needed her to maintain an image of discipline, not a friendly status with the team's most troubled member.

"Gonna take a whole lot more than an apology to stop me whupin his ass." Benjamin followed this up with an inappropriate display of a whipping motion that James tried to ignore.

"Well in the meantime get your gear loaded up, and Alessandra stay for a moment." _I have to sort this out one of these days, maybe today is the day._

"Yes Sir." Both responded, Benjamin taking the weapons locker from Alessandra and moving out the door. Once he was gone, James turned to the remaining Spartan.

"Alessandra, you need to stop instigating him." James chose to be blunt and to the point. A far better option when dealing with Alessandra, who's social skills flexed from fluent to non-existent.

"Yes Sir" Alessandra had adopted one of her neutral tones of voice, that to many may have been seen as respect, but to James it was a sign she was holding back.

"I know you two are close, but you need to maintain an image, and you won't be able to lead him if you continue to treat him like that!" James voice took on a sharp tone at the reference to Benjamin. _I need my second to be ready to take control if something happens, which is a full possibility if Delta keeps up the pace we are at currently._

"Sir, yes Sir." again with the neutral tone being forced.

"Speak freely." James needed reassurance. _I need to know what she is holding back if I'm gonna make her understand the position she may find herself in._

"Sir, I don't think that's wise." James thought he heard just a hint of annoyance in her statement.

"I want to hear whatever you have to say, I will listen" _If only to find a hole in your logic._

"Sir… I think you are wrong about how to lead Benjamin, and the rest of Delta for that matter." The bluntness of her comment shocked James for a moment before he remembered who he was talking to.

"And may I ask as to why?" S _ome reasoning would be_ _appreciated._

"Ben is a good man, and a hell of a soldier, Jax is an amazing fighter and I feel that the bond you are trying to destroy is a huge part of the reason this team is so effective!"

"Duly noted, you are dismissed." James needed to finish reading the information packet before the briefing.

"Yes Sir" Alessandra saluted and made for the door.

"See you at 0500" _I will not stand for them being late again._

Alessandra didn't stop or say anything as she walked out the door.

 _I need to get him transferred off my team. Jackson is okay and effective but Benjamin… he's a troublemaker, no matter how good he scored or how effective he is in the field… Benjamin has to go, sooner or later. Preferably sooner._

James looked at the clock to see that it was nearly 0400.

"Better go get my gear." James exited his room heading to the armory.

 _Time to meet the new quartermaster._

* * *

 _ **Infinity corridor**_

 _ **Benjamin MacDavis**_

Ben had waited outside the quarter doors until he saw Aless walk out, he wasn't gonna leave her here alone, not with a beast as deadly as Sir. When she walked out Ben knew something was up. The way she carried herself and the lack of words were enough for Ben to understand, this hadn't been the first time she and Sir had a "friendly chat". Aless had nerves of steel, but that didn't stop Ben from worrying.

"That bad huh?" Ben had to lighten the mood somehow.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Aless gave that slight shake of anger at the end of her words that Ben had become all to familiar with, the sound that he was pretty sure no one else noticed... not even Aless herself. That slight waver was the only sign Ben had been able to find that reflected just how Aless was feeling.

"Well, you walked out in one piece, that's something right." Ben was hoping he could at the bare minimum make her smile, not that he would have been able to see it through her helmet.

"Suppose it is."

 _Whatever Sir had said is really getting to her, that dick. No one can mess with Aless but me._

Ben needed to know what they were talking about; not just so he could help Aless, but to satisfy his own curiosity.

"Come on Aless talk to me, don't pull a Jax." She was already better than Jax, being as how she uttered any sound at all. He felt like she was trying to hide something, and Ben hated it when he couldn't at least try to help.

"He wanted to talk about the teamwork dynamic of our team."

 _Now we are getting somewhere._

"And...?" S _urely there's more, Sir is never that easy on someone before 1200._

Ben blamed the man's lack of a sleep cycle and heavy use of medication. Not that Ben was supposed to know about that, or that he really held the latter over him. Sometimes people needed to forget.

"Nothing, he just asked me to speak my mind and then dismissed me." Aless let out a regretful sigh after saying this. She knew exactly what Ben was about to ask.

"What did you say... was it about me… was it nice?" Ben said the last bit in a flowery voice that made Aless want to punch him in the face.

"I didn't say anything, he did all the talking." Aless let the words out with a mix of confidence and frustration that would have lead anyone to believe her, but not Ben.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Aless stopped in the middle of the corridor, speaking in a voice riddled with confusion.

"For standing up for your team." Aless attempted to interrupt, with no success. "Don't say you didn't Aless, I know you… and thank you." Aless was one of the kindest people Ben knew, and Ben knew a lot of people… like 12.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aless continued down the corridor towards the hanger. Regaining her composure and confident tone of voice.

"Yeah… sure you don't." Ben couldn't imagine what Sir would do if Aless wasn't there to filter out some of his worse attributes. "So, any idea on how long we are supposed to be deployed?" _Can't hurt to have some advance warning on whether or not I should pack the essentials; water, extra food, entertainment... porn... the essentials._

"We'll find out at the briefing."

 _Damn you Aless, I need answers! Do I bring the porn!?_

"So... like, a month... two... sixty?" Ben was counting on Aless for an answer.

"You don't need to bring your… graphic novels." the pause and disgusted sound at the end were becoming increasingly common as Aless and Ben became closer friends.

"I would never do such a thing, I am an innocent boy." _Dammit._

"Just don't let Sir find out... I don't wanna have that conversation… again".

 _Ah, good memories._

"You guys should have knocked. Not my fault you don't knock first."

"Please stop." Aless actually sounded distressed at the direction the conversation had gone.

"You checked to make sure that bastard didn't break these too right!?" Ben said gesturing to the weapons locker he was carrying. In part to change the topic for Aless' benefit and partly because he was concerned about his precious guns.

"I checked them." Aless was definitely a reliable source... but...

"Bulldog? Demise? I swear if he touched Mustang or Sally I'm gon-" Ben was interrupted by Aless putting a hand up waving off his train of thought.

"I already checked, they're all in there." Ben trusted Aless, since Jezebel wasn't at stake. Ben didn't even trust his own mother with Jezebel.

Ben and Aless spent the next few minutes in silence... or Ben making a pun and bad joke and Aless sighing in disappointment.

 _She just doesn't have a sense of humor._

The two were nearing the hanger when they were intercepted by a crewmen, or crew-woman, Ben wasn't gonna judge. The woman saluted and directed her attention to Aless.

"Ma'am, that package you ordered came through on one of the frigates." The woman had a stern, expressionless face.

 _Yup... try-hard._

"Thank you Lieutenant." Aless gave a friendly nod to the crewmen, or crew-woman.

 _Not gonna judge._

"It will be waiting for you in the supply depot."

"I'll be there in a few minutes, just need to take some gear to the hanger real quick." Aless had a hint of excitement in her voice at whatever the package was.

"I can take this stuff if you want to go get the package and meet me at the hanger in about five minutes." _It's not like this stuff is all that heavy anyways._

"If you wouldn't mind, that would save me some time." Aless actually seemed slightly giddy in anticipation of her delivery.

"You still have your hard drive thing hooked into your armour right?" They were gonna be pretty early to the meeting, might as well kill some time with some of those ancient games Aless always packed with her.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well if you hurry we can hijack one of the terminals, and I can school you at one of your games. Dealer's choice." Ben felt he was gonna regret saying that.

"Oh, you're _on_." Aless handed over her duffel bag and followed the lieutenant down the corridor towards the elevator.

Ben was now left with the duty of carrying his weapons locker stuffed to the brim, even without Jezebel, and now the duffel bag full of ammo... not really heavy or anything... just... awkward. Ben spent a few moments trying to rearrange it so it was easier to carry, settling on just setting the duffel bag on top of his locker and carrying it like a tray. Ben had a habit of muting his helmet's external speakers so he could talk to himself. Not that he was crazy, he just liked to talk.

"Wonder what she's all excited about..." Ben entered the hanger and set the gear down near the holo-table that the commander would probably use to show useless maps of the place they were probably gonna blow up by the end anyways.

 _I really like to blow things up._ Ben let of a slight giggle as he waited.

* * *

 ** _I_ nfinity corridor**

 _ **Alessandra West**_

Aless was trying to hold herself back from running to the depot, the only thing really stopping her was the lieutenant, whom she would rather not let see her so excited, bad reputation for a Spartan, but she wished that the lieutenant would hurry up a little. When they finally got to the depot Aless had to wait for the painfully slow lieutenant to go into the back to collect the package. She walked out with a smallish brown box, just what Aless was looking for. Aless took the package from the lieutenant and, after signing some paperwork, started to head back towards the hanger until the Lieutenant stopped her.

"Would you mind giving this to MacDavis? I am expected elsewhere, and you're heading that way." The lieutenant pulled out an envelope that was clearly some kind of UNSC document. One could tell by the ludicrous amount of writing and stamps on the outside.

"Sure, can I ask what it is?"

"Something he requested a few weeks back, I wasn't the one on duty so your guess is as good as mine. All I know is its official, sorry." Aless shrugged.

 _It's not any of my business anyways._

She knew to avoid overstepping personal bounds. Aless took the letter and went on her way.

The walk back was quiet and left Aless with plenty of time to think about the package she was carrying. After all the things that Ben had done for her, after helping her with her guns and armour, helping her come out of her shell- even if just a little, and everything he had done for her beyond that... she hadn't done anything for him... this package would help her make up the difference.

 _Nobody does something without a goal or a motive._

She appreciated Ben and his help, but she refused to be in debt to someone, especially the person closest to being considered a friend; someone she would let herself trust, if she didn't know better. She knew Ben, and she knew what he liked... namely guns. Aless had to call in most of the favors she had gained in her career, but it had finally arrived, a Twenty-First century Super Sport .357 Korth Revolver. Ben had mentioned one day, while he was drunk, that his family used to have one that was passed down from his ancestors as a sort of family heirloom. An heirloom that Ben's family had pawned off before it could get into his hands. Ben attributed his love for all things gun to that revolver, and had said that he wished he could have one. Now they would be even.

Aless had spent the last few weeks trying to decide what she should do to make up for Ben's help, and this was just the thing. The only remaining thing to be decided was when to give it to him. Aless was debating whether to give it to him when they came back from the mission as a reward type thing, or now so he could give it a test run on the mission they were about to depart on. The more Aless thought about it the more she wished she could just ask someone. That someone would usually have been Ben, but he was obviously out for this one.

O _r is he? Why cant I just ask him which he would prefer?_

Aless had been trying to beat around the bush when she could have just gone through.

Aless made up her mind as she neared the hanger. She walked over to the holo table where Ben was standing.

"What's in the box?" Ben gestured towards the package Aless held against her hip.

"Do you want it now, or after the mission?" Aless hated trying to be subtle... and why should she have to be anyways?

"Wait, what!? That's for me?" Ben straightened up as he spoke into a more formal stance.

"Yep, took a long time to get my hands on an original and not some knockoff." Aless was banking on it balancing out all that had happened between them, which she could only tell if it worked by Ben's reaction to it, she knew he would be excited to take it.

"Keep it."

 _Wait, what?_

"You don't even wanna know what it is?" Aless had spent her fair share of sleepless nights trying to get this damn gun and he was just gonna say no without even looking at it!?

"Save it for when we're on our way back from the mission." Aless couldn't help but think Ben hadn't even looked and was already shoving it back in her face.

"Okay... oh the lieutenant wanted me to give this to you." Aless handed over the letter and then began to think about what to do with the package.

"Oh, thanks. I was wondering when that was gonna get in." Ben took the letter looked at it, then slid it under his weapons locker, and then a silence fell over them for a few seconds.

"So which will it be." Ben, as always, broke the silence first

"What do you mean?" _Did I tune out something again?_

"Which game am I gonna one-up you in today?"

 _Oh, right._

Aless had completely forgotten about why they split up in the first place.

"I'm thinking something quick since we only have like twenty minutes, how about one of those racing games?"

"What happened to dealers choice?" Aless reached up to the back of her helmet, pulling out the modified data storage chip and plugging it in to one of the nearby consoles.

"Hey, no one said I couldn't make a recommendation." Aless knew that Ben was trying to coax her into one of the games he was good at, but unfortunately for Ben, she had been practicing.

"You're on"

 **Thirty Minutes Later**

"Damn it!" Ben was scary good at racing games, Aless always came so close only to lose last minute. She was more then able to gain the lead early on, but every time, last minute, he would overtake her.

"Next time we're gonna play an FPS!"

"If you say so, I would love to kick your Spartan III ass at a shoot'em up"

Ben was probably the only person Aless would let say something like that and not get thrown to the ground before they could finish the sentence. She had come to know that Ben was joking... he was always joking, a trait Aless couldn't tell if she liked or not.

* * *

 ** _Infinity Hanger Control Room_**

 ** _James R. Roberts_**

"I want him off my team!" James was certain of only a few things in this world and one of those was that Benjamin had to go.

"And I've told you before, unless he brakes regulation, you can't remove him, not unless he requests a transfer."

 _I don't care about the regulations, I just want the weak link off my team. He's causing everyone to go soft!_

"Ma'am, with all due respect, Benjamin cant take any mission seriously enough to be effective. He's no good for a Spartan team, not Delta, not any." _How have none of the higher ups noticed this yet!?_

"James, you're the only person on the Infinity that thinks that, and he has the track record to debunk your argument. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it. You'll just have to learn how to put up with him." James always had a certain level of respect for Palmer, except when she refused to do the right thing and remove Benjamin.

"Now, get out to the hanger and get ready for the briefing, I will be out in about seven minutes. Dismissed."

James gave a salute and left, knowing this was far from over.

 _Regulations be damned, he WILL be off my team._

* * *

 _ **Infinity Hanger Control Room**_

 _ **Sarah Palmer**_

Commander Palmer had had this argument with James seventeen times to date, and they always ended the same. James was a stubborn man no doubt, and he had a number of conflicting viewpoints with Ben, but why he wanted him off his team so bad was not easy to understand.

 _Ben is the only member of Delta that has any real measure of social life, or, hell, any social interaction at all with the rest of the Infinity's crew. That alone makes him a valuable asset. Why James would want to throw that away so haphazardly is beyond me._

Whatever the case, they were stuck together. Ben was a good soldier and wasn't going to break any rules that would give him grounds to be removed. Delta was a house of cards, remove even one and it would come tumbling down. In all honesty it should have fallen apart by now, but it hadn't. There was something holding that team together, something even James couldn't remove.

 _Delta is one of the older and better Spartan Fireteams. A service history stretching back far before the current Delta were assembled into a team. Are they still effective? Yes, but I think the old Delta would be disappointed._

Palmer saw the Pelican she was waiting for land, she grabbed the mission folders and began heading for the hanger.

 _Right on time, just like ONI. Maybe now I can get some answers about this mission._

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Okay, thats a thing now. I spent the last few months getting this all typed up and edited...and re-edited...and re-re-edited...in the end I think I wrote about 20 thousand words for this story. Most of which was re working a section or the next chapter that is now not gonna work due to changes.**

 **I do want to say that this will NOT be the normal length of my chapters. This is special due to it being the first, and serving as an intro. The average chapter I will try to make about 5 thousand. This will likely be in flux and change depending on the viewer response and the general mood I am in I guess. I also can't guarantee when the next chapter will be available for update. Due to summer and jobs and internet access and the availability of editors...just life stuff. I will try to get chapter 2 going before too long, I understand the pain of waiting.**

 **Any and all criticism is appreciated and encouraged. Thank you for taking time to read through my story, and I hope you come back.**

 **One last time, a big thank you to my editors. Couldn't have done this without you guys and I doubt you will ever know just how much this means to me. Thank you.**

 **Sincerely** **SardonicEffigy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok here is the second chapter of Remnant Solution. I would again like to thank my editors for their help in making this story and the actual process of getting it uploaded and story boarded out.**

 **I would also like to point out that I will be changing the tags a little. This story was a Scifi Humor, it will now be a Scifi only because I can't find another tag that fits well.. I feel that after writing this chapter that fits better and will portray it in a more accurate light. If anyone has any recommendations for what tags would fit for what is going so far let me know.**

 **Lastly, this chapter is also longer than anticipated. I was shooting for five thousand and ended up getting around seven thousand. The average should both take longer to write and be a little shorter.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and thank you for taking time out of your day to read it.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Infinity Hanger_

Fireteam Delta had assembled in one of the Infinity's many hangar bays to prepare for the briefing. They had also been joined by a handful of crewmen and women from various postings, most of them Aless didn't recognize save for the cook and the man who had been on duty in the armoury the day before.

 _Dakota, the guy trying to dig up information on Ben, and… what was his name? Daniel… that sounds right._

There was a wide range of people in attendance from combat personnel to engineering crews, to even a few scientists and researchers; again, most of which Aless didn't recognize, only able to tell their positions by the uniforms they wore. Most of them had given a friendly nod to her and varying levels of greetings to Ben, not all of them friendly.

Aless saw the Pelican float into the hanger and set down with a soft click of metal on metal. She watched as two men and one woman disembarked from the pelican… all of them wearing ONI uniforms.

 _Great. Another black ops mission that never happened and will likely be a moraly grey area at best. My favorite._

Aless had spent most of her career working with, or for, ONI. From her early training days to the time just before her reassignment to Delta. She thought she was finally free from their organization entirely… clearly not.

"Colonel Baker, I presume?" Commander Palmer gave a salute.

"Please, drop the formalities commander. I'm not here on official ONI business." The colonel was of average height, though he still had a large figure, and he spoke with an accent that Aless couldn't identify.

The commander gestured towards the three Spartans standing at attention and one Spartan standing at ease. Ben, of course, was the odd man out.

"This is Fireteam Delta, the team assigned to the mission." The commander switched her focus to the group of crew men and women also standing at attention. "And these are the additional personnel needed for the Token's crew. All good at their jobs and some of the finest crew members the Infinity has."

"What have you told them about the mission?" The Colonel interjected with a speedy mass of words that Aless took as either annoyance or nervousness.

 _With ONI it could easily be both and neither at the same time._

"Only that they would be gone for some time, figured you would want to fill them in yourself." The commander didn't look annoyed or frustrated by the colonels sudden interruption.

"Thank you commander, and I do apologize if I seem agitated. This mission was very… sudden. I have lost more sleep over this than almost any other op I've worked on… not that I was gonna sleep anyways but you get the point." He turned from Palmer and looked out over the assembled crew. "I would also like to apologize for the abruptness of this mission. I understand how hard it is to make a decision on such short notice and I thank you for your willingness to cooperate."

Aless amused herself at the thought of Delta actually saying no to a mission, it would never happen.

"This mission." The colonel stopped to look around and verify that the hangar was abandoned except for the mission participants. "You can never tell a living soul what you do. Your files will be adjusted to accommodate this and you will be rewarded handsomely by the Office of Naval Intelligence. If you don't remain silent however… well, thankfully that's not my department."

The words washed over the crowd while the colonel stopped for a moment to let the gravity of the situation sink in.

"If you wish to leave, now is your opportunity. No one would blame or hold it against you."

He stopped again to let the crowd think, and to Aless' liking, no one left.

"Good. Now, you will all be transferred over to the Token, a Phoenix-class colony ship, and will be going out past the outer colonies to an Insurrectionist stronghold. Upon arrival you will force a malfunction of your slipspace drive core and go in for repairs. Be warned, these Insurrectionists are _very_ well equipped; not only with UNSC gear and ships, but covenant as well. This particular cell has allied themselves with the Keepers of the One Freedom, a Covenant splinter faction that works with humans." The Colonel stopped for a moment and rubbed his hand over his face before continuing. "Worse yet the Insurrectionists chose this specific plannet to make a stronghold due to its Forerunner presence...we believe they found something important. Over the last four days the Insurrectionists and Covenant faction have pulled in every ship and soldier they had near the planet and set up a defensive perimeter."

The colonel paused and seemed to slip into deep thought for a moment.

"What did they find… Sir?" Ben was the one to break the silence.

"We think it's a weapon."

"If it's a weapon, then why not send in the fleet, take the world by force? We have the firepower."

"The weapon is being kept in a densely populated area we would have to bomb from orbit to neutralize before it could become a threat to any invading force. Estimated casualties are in the millions."

Silence washed over the room again. Aless couldn't find fault with that outcome, try as she might.

 _If it really is a weapon then the enemy can't be allowed to have something of Forerunner construction. What are a few million lives in comparison to the the safety of thousands of worlds?_

Aless was disgusted with herself; not for what she thought, but how casually she thought it. Would it be for the greater good? Yes. Would it save more lives than would die? Yes. Did that make it okay to throw away the lives of millions? Aless didn't know, but hated herself for the thought. She turned her attention back to the ONI officer to distract herself.

"That's why you're here. We don't want it to come to that." The man forced a smile on his face. "We don't want to end so many innocent people's lives."

"What if we fail?" Aless was the one to break the silence this time. Her voice showing more emotion than she would have liked. Most people seemed to miss that, except for Ben, she could see by the way he looked at her. While everyone else was focusing on the ONI man in anticipation of his answer, Ben was looking at her. Truthfully the emotion was nothing more than a small waver, something only Ben seemed to notice, even she missed it until he pointed it out while he was drunk.

"You won't, because you can't. If you fail we will be forced to sabotage a reactor near the facility, causing it to go nuclear. The weapon can not stay in their control. There is no room for failure!" The man was looking over the entire crowd, not talking to any person specifically, thus keeping attention off of Aless, much to her relief. Until he looked at her directly. "Is that understood?" And everyone snapped their attention to her.

"When do we ship out?" Ben was the first to jump to her rescue, diverting everyone's attention to him. Something he was far more comfortable with.

"You'll be transfering over to the Token within the hour." The man turned to look at Aless again and waited another moment in silence. "If there are no more questions I recommend you all get ready to be sent over to the Token."

The crew members in the hangar spread out to gather their duffle bags and footlockers. Aless and Ben had already taken care of that before the meeting, and Jax and Roberts were quickly checking through their gear to be certain it was all there. Ben walked over to Aless.

"Wonder what the device is." Ben took a position leaning against a wall to talk to Aless

"It's a weapon. He just said that." Aless wasn't sure if Ben had been paying full attention or not.

"No he didn't. He said they _thought_ it was a weapon. For all we know it could be the Fountain of Youth or maybe a really big coffee machine." Ben leaned down into his own personal bag. Aless leaned over to get a look at what was inside, only to be disappointed when he covered it up.

"Its alcohol isn't it?" Aless let out a sigh

"I only packed mission critical and essential items. What do you take me for, a rookie?"

"Just because you say it's essential doesn't make that true."

"Really? Huh, who knew. Yep it's booze." Ben stood back up and went over to pick up his weapons locker.

"At this rate you might actually die of alcoholism before you're killed in action. That's impressive for a Spartan!" Aless believed if anyone was gonna do it, it would be Ben.

"I'm here for a good time not a-" Ben didn't get to finish that sentence before the two were interrupted by someone, the Quartermaster from yesterday. He held something under his arms, that something being a weapons crate with one word sketched across the top, _Jezebel_. Aless heard Ben's fist clench.

"MacDavis, West." The Quartermaster nodded to both her and Ben before continuing. "The machine managed to fix it up and I thought I should get it down here before you shipped out."

Ben gasped.

"You actually did it? Sweet! Hand her here." Ben quickly realized there was a problem. In his one hand he had the crate with all his other guns, and the other his alcohol. Ben looked like he broke before he turned to Aless. "Would you… would you carry her for me?"

Aless was a little shocked, not that Ben had to much of a choice, but he never let anyone touch Jezebel… Never.

"Sure." Aless took the crate from the Quartermaster and thanked him before heading towards the pelican.

The flight over to the Token was short, cramped, and quiet. The pelican was filled a little over what it usually would have been due to the gear and personal belongings of all those heading over to the ship from the Infinity. Upon arrival Delta was greeted by an ensign who informed them that the captain wanted to see them as soon as possible. Delta stopped by their barracks to drop off their stuff and made for the command bridge.

"Delta, I presume. Welcome to the Token, I'm captain Martin. I've read your files so no need for introductions. Your team has quite the service history, Roberts." The captain got straight to the point and spoke in a swift sharp tone that seemed to rush the conversation forward.

"Thank you sir." Roberts gave the expected response.

"We'll be heading to the Regnar system soon, at which point you four will go down to the planet and extract the Forerunner weapon by any means necessary. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Delta responded in unison, save Ben who just gave a half hearted salute.

"Get your gear situated in your quarters and then get prepped for cryo. It's a long ways to the Regnar system. Dismissed!" The captain gave a nod and turned to face his holo-table. Delta left and made for the section of the ship reserved for cryo sleep.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Token Hallway_

Fireteam Delta made their way to the cryo bay in silence. Except for the passing conversations Ben started. Nothing more than a greeting or a few sentences, but he always loved meeting new people. They had a certain innocence to them. Not that they hadn't done bad things in life.

 _Everyone has baggage, especially if you're UNSC or ONI._

Ben shuttered at the thought of what the people on his team must have done before his introduction to them. He had dug up all he could on Aless and Jax, he didn't care enough for Roberts. Ben knew enough people, and he had some family connections that got him what he wanted on his new team. Their history was… spotty to say the least. Ben would never judge, or even tell them he knew. He had done his fair share of dirty work, but new people had no idea about that stuff, and he had no idea about theirs. A fresh start… for a time at least. People always found out of course, either by rumor or Ben himself. He had a habit of talking while he was drunk, he couldn't help it.

Delta reached the cryo section fairly quickly once Ben was distracted in thought.

"Delta… up on the left, pods fourteen, fifteen, seventeen, and twenty-four. Sorry about the spacing. Hard to accommodate the sudden influx of crew." The woman in white fatigues gestured them towards the left with a friendly smile. Ben let the rest of Delta head to the pods while he stayed behind to speak to her.

"Name's Ben. So, how goes the popsicle making?" Ben extended his hand out to meet hers.

"Ashley. As for the 'popsicle making', you Infinity boys and girls made my job all the harder." She gave a soft smile to indicate it was of no real concern.

"Oh, what can I say, we take up… _Infinitely_ … more room." The woman fell silent. "... I'll admit, not my best."

"They warned me about the puns." She finally let out a slight chuckle.

"Really? I thought they would have said something about my dashing good looks first." Ben went to put a hand on his chin only to realise he was still wearing his helmet.

"They also mentioned that." Ashley gave a coy smile and tilted her head to the side. "You should get going, we head out in 5 minutes."

Ben turned around and made for his pod.

"We're gonna get something to drink when I wake up. Assuming you don't freeze me in a position that will cause me to cramp, that is."

"I'll hold you to that."

Ben went to join the rest of his team. Jax and Roberts had already gone into cryo. Roberts chose the pod farthest away, twenty-four, while Jax chose seventeen. Leaving Aless and Ben to have the ones right next to each other. Aless had opted to wait for Ben.

 _Aww, she wants to tuck me in. How sweet._

"You ready for a nice long nap?" Ben stretched and faked a yawn.

"After you." Aless gestured to his pod and moved for her own.

"See you when we get up." Ben got comfortable in the pod, as comfortable as one could in a metal tube. He felt the warm touch of consciousness slip away as his mind did the same.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Cryo Bay_

Aless awoke to a sharp hiss, signalling the opening of the cryo pod. She took a second to get over the dizziness and gain her bearings before dropping out of the pod. She landed on her feet and stayed standing with mild assistance from the railing in front of the pod. She looked over to see if Ben was up yet, he was. He was also taking a swig from a flask he kept attached to his belt.

"Nothing like a little whiskey to get over that cryo sleep hangover." Ben's voice had the hallmark of someone having their morning coffee.

"I don't think that's entirely healthy." _Mixing the chemicals from cryo sleep and alcohol seems like a really bad idea._

"Oh, I know it isn't, and yet, here we are." Ben attached his flask to his hip and gestured for Aless to follow. "Captain wants to see us."

"Wait." Aless looked around and down the row to see if Jax and James' pods were open yet.

"They are already there. I elected to wait for you to wake up sleepy head." Ben picked up on her line of thought quickly. He secured his helmet before turning around to finish speaking. "Come on, don't wanna keep the captain waitin'."

Aless and Ben quietly walked back up to the bridge. She couldn't tell how long they were out for or how close they were to the mission zone, but judging from how sore her muscles felt and how quiet the crew was she could tell they had been out a while and were at least getting close.

 _Wonder how many of the Token's crew have killed a person before. Killing covies is one thing, but a Human? I've heard thats a lot harder._

Aless couldn't personally tell the difference. A kill was a kill, nothing special or to feel good about, just a kill. She had heard that killing left a lasting impact on the person, ranging from nightmares, to PTSD, to drinking habits, or even mental breakdown entirely. She considered herself lucky none of those ever came up.

Her and Ben made it to the bridge without interruption. Upon arrival Aless saw Jax and James standing around a holo-table talking with the captain. It was the Captain who noticed them first.

"West, MacDavis, We were just discussing the strategy for which you will gain access to the Insurrectionist facility and the weapon. Care to join us?"

"We'd be excited to boss, and you can just call me Ben, rolls off the tongue better."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyways, the main facility is here." He pointed to a large hexagonal shaped building on the holo-table. "Our intel says that the weapon is being kept in a sub-basement converted into a makeshift research lab. For the most part the planet's real strength is it's fleet, relatively little in the terms of ground support. Making your jobs all the easier."

"Standard smash and grab?" Ben seemed to finally be feeling a little bit of the hangover from either the cryo pod or the alcohol.

 _Serves you right for drinking seventy percent of the time._

"A little bit harder than you make it sound but yes, that's the premise." The captain stretched his arms out across the holo table. "The largest resistance will be the security checkpoint here, you'll have to remove them without raising any alarms."

"So we sneak in up to that point, take out the guards, gun it for the weapon and then make our way out? Are we even sure that this artifact can be moved by a Fireteam?" If the situation had been something other than a mission briefing then Aless would have been surprised by Ben's serious tone and lack of jokes. He joked with nearly every situation, even the actual combat aspect of a mission, but when it came to planning he was straightforward, and in Aless' opinion, a decent tactician.

"He raises a fair point. What is the estimated size and weight of the weapon?" James was always more than willing to work with Ben's tactical side when it came up. He found it easier to get along with apparently.

 _Can't say I blame him, Ben is a real pain to deal with._

"The weapon is far too large for you to carry, however, the design prints are available on a much smaller Forerunner data storage device. You'll need to scuttle the prebuilt one they have as well as the prototype they built."

Aless listened carefully to the rest of the briefing. Once it was done she turned to Ben.

"I need to give something to Roberts. Meet you back at the quarters."

"Sure thing." Aless turned to leave. Catching a glimpse of an envelope with countless official stamps and barcodes, the parcel she gave to Ben when she got back from the supply depot back on the Infinity.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Token Command Bridge_

"Roberts, we need to talk." Ben didn't hate Roberts, he didn't hate anyone.

"Can't it wait? I need to finalize some details with the Captain here."

"It really can't, and it won't take but a moment." Ben pulled out the envelope Aless had given him and handed it over to to Roberts.

"What's this?" Roberts slowly opened the envelope pulling out a series of papers. "Are these-?"

"Yep… medical discharge papers. You'll finally get what you always wanted." Ben expected to hear the man's voice take on a happy tone or for him to dance a jig or something. Instead he just stood there.

"Medical discharge for what?" James' voice was low and monotone.

"It's all in the paperwork. I'll be headin' out now, Sir." Ben gave a solid salute and left.

 _Hope Aless doesn't take it too hard.  
_

* * *

 _James Roberts  
_ _Token Command Bridge_

James held the paperwork in his hand, checking it over and over to make sure it wasn't a fake, or some kind of joke from Ben. That was something he had come to expect from him.

 _Nothing. They're real._

James had felt a split second of relief and joy when Ben had handed him the papers. He was finally going to be free from the troublemaker… then he saw the reason why Ben was being discharged. On the paper he held in front of him, he saw the citation for cause.

 _Malignant Neoplasm. Of all the things I thought would kill you Ben… I never thought it would be cancer._

For the first time in James' history with Ben, he regretted being so hard on him. He thought back to all the times Ben had thrown himself into the fray without second thought, and now there was a fight he couldn't win. James felt sick for a moment at the thought of how Alessandra would respond.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Token Hallway_

"Sounds pretty easy." _Pretty standard stuff, nothing we haven't done before._

"Could you not tempt fate Aless?" Ben said as he exited the command bridge. He was always a superstitious man, believing in curses and hexes and good luck charms. He kept one on his person at all time, a small cross attached to his dog tags. Aless never asked where he got it, in truth she didn't care.

 _Oh please, what could possibly go wrong? Stop getting so jumpy. This is standard at worse._

 _What could possibly go wrong?  
_

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Regnar System pelican on route to The Token_

"You just had to say it, didn't ya? 'What could possibly go wrong?'" Ben was piloting the slightly damaged, unarmed pelican toward the Token's hangar bay. Multitasking that already formidable challenge with talking to Aless. Talking would be a nice word for it, in reality he was more sarcastically yelling at her through the cockpit door.

"Oh no! This one is not on me! No one knew about the scorpion! How could we?!" Aless meant this rhetorically, but Ben thought it worthy of comment.

"You jinxed it!" The pelican shook violently to the left. "Shit. Jax, give me twenty percent more power to the left thruster on my mark… Mark!" the Pelican did a swift jerk to the right to account for the lower output on the thruster itself.

"I think they're gaining." Aless not so helpfully said.

"Do you wanna fly? I swear I will turn this pelican around and ram the fuckers!" Ben only mostly meant it. "Roberts, got that thing secured yet?"

"Just about. How much time do we have?" Roberts had to shout even through the radio to be heard over the roaring of the engines.

"Thirty, maybe forty seconds. Aless, get over here and take the controls! I've got an idea." Ben waited to see Aless in his peripheral vision before standing and running into the back of the pelican.

"What are you doing?" Roberts was in the back of the pelican securing the 'small' Forerunner data storage device. It was really not that small, it took both Ben and Aless to move the thing. Regardless of the weight, they had gotten it to the pelican and had the bird in the air before the Insurrectionists knew what was happening.

"Get a hold of something sturdy and open the back! Im gonna use Bulldog to try and take down some of our not so friendly friends!" Ben had to shout to be heard over the engines in the back. The Insurrectionists couldn't afford the high grade ships the UNSC had, settling for a lower grade, and all round worse civilian models for most of their transport needs. Except for the ones following them

"We aren't in atmosphere anymore, the force will pull you out!" Ben was physically shocked for a second at the response. Mainly because it wasn't a definitive no.

"Either get in the cabin or grab something. I'm opening the bay door." Ben moved to the panel and looked over to see whether he was gonna go into the cabin or stay. Roberts grabbed a hold of one of the bars and nodded in his direction.

The sudden depressurization nearly pulled Ben into the vacuum. The only reason he didn't move was because his boots were mag-locked to the floor. He took a second to let the silence wash over him.

Followed by a smile spreading across his face, and he turned, shouldering his Hydra launcher. Ben took a moment to lock his targeting reticle to the engines of the two closest pelicans. While the rockets were strong on an infantry level, they didn't have the power to take down a pelican unless the rockets found their targets; the engine's intake manifold was the ideal target.

Ben released four rockets at each pelican's frontal weak point. The closest pelican took all four into its right intake manifold and twisted in a violent shake before going cold. The second pelican, being farther back, had more time to react and threw its nose down, taking two rockets to its heavy armour plating while the other two struck home. The pelican's wings were engulfed in smoke for a moment before sputtering out a fireball. The pelican fell behind, unable to keep up with its speed crippled, while the other two pursuing pelicans pulled off to go after their fallen comrades.

Ben closed the bay door and began the pressurization sequence as they closed in on the Token. He could already imagine the scolding from Roberts before he turned around.

"Nice shot." Roberts didn't look at him but instead turned around and gestured to the cabin. "Get up and relive Alessandra."

"Sure thing." Ben knew Aless had experience and could fly a pelican, he was just better.

Ben walked into the cabin to see they were already pulling into the Token's hanger.

 _Aww, but I wanted to fly some more._

"How did she do, Jax?" Ben looked at the copilot's seat.

Jax held up his thumb.

"Jax says you need some improvement if you wanna be as good as me, but not bad." Ben gave Jax a nod in thanks for the compliment.

"Yeah… Let's go with that." Aless flipped a few switches to shut the pelican down and stood up, heading for the doorway towards the troop bay of the pelican.

"I'm fairly certain th-" Ben didn't get to finish that before the ship shook violently and a loud voice came over the intercom system.

" _All combat personnel to your posts. This is not a drill."_ The familiar voice of the captain alerting them that they weren't out of danger.

"So Roberts, where do you think they'll need us?" Ben walked out into the troop bay of the pelican.

"Jax and I are gonna get this to engineering, they have an isolation center set up so it doesn't affect any systems. You two need to get in contact with the Captain and see where he needs you." Roberts and Jax picked up the Forerunner artifact and carried it out into the open hangar bay.

"Yes sir." Aless responded before sprinting off in the direction of the door with Ben in close pursuit.

"Spartan C412 to bridge, do you copy?" Only static could be heard over the radio. "Spartan C412 to bridge, do you copy?" static. "Ben see if you can reach the bridge."

"Spartan C094 to bridge, anyone there?" Ben's radio responded with a broken voice covered by static.

"The… not… evacuation…" The voice was faint and easily overpowered by the static of the radio.

"Repeat your last, we didn't catch that." Aless' radio finally caught the signal.

"Dam… clear… now…" The static continued. "Is this any better?" A female voice came over the radio

"We read you, where's the captain?"

The voice on the other end stayed silent for a few seconds.

"The captain _was_ on the bridge." Ben knew what the woman was saying the second he heard her voice. The mix of sadness and the knowledge that you have a job to do, and if you don't do your job more people would die, a bitter sounding tone. Aless missed the meaning.

"We can't reach him. Mind putting use through?"

"Who's acting captain right now?" Aless slowed down slightly letting Ben pass her as she caught onto the meaning behind the woman's words.

"The highest ranking officer still alive is..." The woman's voice stopped for a moment. "The head engineer."

"And where are they? We need to know where the most at risk parts of the ship are." Aless had regained her composure.

"Your talking to her. The uh… the place that will most likely need your help is the hanger you came in on. I'm getting reports that some boarding parties are already there."

Ben and Aless stopped to look at each other before they turned and began to run back to the hanger they had just left.

"Heads up, Roberts and Jax are on route to you with artifact. Have the isolation chamber ready when they get there." Ben let Aless take the lead as he worked to reload his Hydra.

"Will do, and good luck you two." The radio crackled as Ben and Aless switched to the Delta Fireteam channel.

"Roberts, this is Ben, do you read me?" The radio was silent for a moment.

"I heard. We will get this dropped off in engineering and meet you at the hanger. Roberts out."

"Well… nice to see someone has it under control, right Aless?" Aless tilted her helmet back enough so that she could see Ben. He was glad they were wearing helmets because he didn't think he could have looked her in the face.

 _I'll tell her once we get out of this. She deserves to hear it from me.  
_

* * *

 _James Roberts  
_ _Token Engineering Bay_

"Where do you want it?" James and Jax had to lug the heavy Forerunner artifact through the Token to the engineering bay the hard way, due to the elevators being out.

"Put it over there in the red square." The acting captain pointed to a glassed off part of the room. "When you do that one of you head to the hanger, I'll need one of you to help me secure it."

The woman was typing away on one of the terminals among a mess of books and broken down components. James and Jax set the weapon down in the secured area before moving out and closing the glass door behind them.

"Go help in the hangar, I'll help her and meet you there." Jax appeared to hesitate for a second before sprinting out the door. James turned to the woman. "What do you need?"

"For the most part it's a one person job but I need you to turn that key at the same time and pull that lever when I tell you!" The acting captain gestured to a terminal on the far wall.

James walked over to the wall and waited for her to gesture for him to turn the key.

"Turn the key in… 3… 2… 1… now!" James turned the key and heard a sharp crack as the shields snapped into place around the weapon.

The woman looked at a terminal and then to the artifact, and back to the terminal. Her eyes were wide as she sprinted towards another console.

"Pull the lever now!" The woman's voice sounded stressed and concerned.

James pulled the lever and turned to look at the weapon. It was glowing with a soft orange color, and a holographic control panel flickering in and out of existence.

"It's powering up! We need to shut it down before it does anything!" The woman ran to the glass door, opened it, and went through, latching the door behind her. "Go over to the terminal and turn off the shields, I need to interact with the interface directly."

James wanted to protest the idea but knew time didn't permit it, and she was his superior. He ran over to her terminal and pulled up the isolation shield controls. James began to power them down before a bright flash blinded him, and a shockwave knocked him off his feet. He had to force his eyes open. When he did finally manage to open them he saw nothing. The Engineering Bay was nowhere to be seen, from what he could tell he wasn't on the ship anymore. The first thought to run through his head was that he was in space, until he realized he didn't even see any stars. The solar system that was so close mere seconds before was now gone.

 _Am I… am I dead?_

James noticed a few faint lights twinkle into existence in the dark, stars. Then he saw more, and more, and a far closer star fade into being. He saw scrap and parts of the ship he could only assume used to be the Engineering Bay. He reached out to grab the terminal that floated close to him, it was nothing more than a piece of metal without a power feed, but it still had it's hardware, something that could prove useful yet. He took a second to gain his bearings before trying to cue up his radio.

"This is Spartan James Roberts, code B186 to Token, do you copy?" The helmet radio was silent. Not with static, but completely silent. He ran a suit diagnostic and found that the radio was malfunctioning, the suit couldn't determine why.

James felt his body jerked by a sudden force of gravity. The jerk turned him around to see a lush looking world slowly fade into existence, and that it was suddenly getting a lot closer. As he was pulled closer and closer to the planet he braced himself for the imminent forces, heat, and pain of falling onto a planet from orbit.

James tried to resist the G-forces from knocking him out, but failed. A slow darkness surrounded his vision until he was forced into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was a snowy landscape slowly grow below him, and what appeared to be a city.

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Unknown location_

Jax wasn't prepared for the strange pulse to throw him off his feet, let alone outside of the Token. As he tumbled through space his suit began to beep that his oxygen was running out quickly. He was not surprised by this. Shortly after losing sight of the Token he had been struck by, presumably, a piece of its hull, cracking his visor. He judged that he had maybe four minutes of oxygen before he would run out.

It was with knowledge that he was relieved to feel the familiar pull of gravity. He was never a fan of a rough landing, but had been known to do so back in his ONI days.

 _Hope the others got it under control._

Jax thought about what he was gonna do once he landed. With his helmet cracked the way it was he was unable to make out any distinguishing landmarks on his way down. He couldn't tell when he was gonna land, but he would know when he hit it.

The sudden change in force and relatively quick stop would have killed him, if not for his armor.

He wasn't sure how long he laid in the crater, not more than ten minutes before he heard a rumble steadily getting louder. He went to stand up only to be met with a sharp pain forcing him down. The VTOL landed with a group of people disembarking.

The lead of which was a man with orange hair and a cane.

 _Great… who doesn't love a fight after falling from orbit?_

Jax pulled out one of his energy swords and kept a hand on the part of his body that was bleeding. The group of men raised their guns and got closer, much to their mistake. He lunged at the first man severing his weapon before moving to cut him in half.

 _Don't make this too easy.  
_

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Token Hangar bay_

The intercom was blaring out a warning barely audible over the gunfight going on between the Token's combat personnel and the boarding party, who was mostly taken care of except for a few stragglers.

"Evacuation protocol has been activated! All crew members get to life pods or transport ships immediately!" Ben didn't know the man by name, but figured it a prudent time to get moving.

"Aless, it's time to move! Go get Jax and Roberts while I warm up the pelican. I'll get as many of the crew as I can." Ben motioned for the motley crew of ODSTs and marine fire support he had with him to move to the nearest pelican. "I'll wait for two minutes before I head out! Jax should be able to fly the other one if you don't make it!" Ben turned to Aless to see her nod and run for the door.

Ben took a moment to make sure all the borders had been dealt with before yelling an order.

"Alright, get on the pelican and strap yourselves in!" Ben sprinted ahead of the men and jumped into the pilot seat.

By the time he got the pelican fired up and ready for take off, the troop bay had been almost filled with the men and women from the hanger, with just enough space for the rest of Fireteam Delta.

Ben felt the ship shake and looked back, much to his dismay. He saw a strange pulse of orange light shooting their way and decided it was probably a good time to take off.

 _Jax is a good pilot and will be able to get Aless out safely… or I'll kill him._

Ben barely got the pelican off the ground before the pulse jutted it forward. His head smashed into the panel in front of him blurring his vision for a second. He could have sworn he saw through the wall of the pelican for a moment, but attributed that to a concussion or his eyes messing up due to the hit his head took. Whatever the case, he was far too busy trying to fly the now falling apart pelican to think too hard on it.

 _What the hell was that blast?_

The main systems of the pelican were faltering and flipping between functioning and not. He judged that he needed to land as quickly as possible to do the needed repairs. He saw a planet appear in front of him, as in suddenly when there wasn't anything a second ago.

 _Did… that's not… am I still drunk?… Fuck it, to the magical planet we go!_

Ben queued up the ship's internal intercom system. "This is your pilot speaking, I just want to inform you that we are experiencing slight technical difficulties and will have to make a layover flight. We know you have no choice in your flight options, but we thank you nonetheless. The stewardess should be coming by with pillows and peanuts very soon." Ben heard a few laughs from the men in the back.

 _Ok, let's see if I can land this thing._

Ben began the descent into the planet's atmosphere following a large chunk of what must have been the Token. The chunk of debris was giving off a homing signal on a frequency Ben knew as UNSC.

 _Hope it's the bar.  
_

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Unknown location_

Aless took a moment to gain her bearings. Her head hurt from the sudden force of the blast and apparent fall from space. She didn't remember much after seeing the pulse going through the hallway except for a couple of flashes of darkness.

Aless' body hurt all over, from her feet and legs to the top of her head. She heard some rustling nearby and quickly went to jump out of the crater. While she made it out of the hole no problem, she horribly misjudged the landing and smacked into the ground with a hard thud.

Aless looked up to see a girl wearing a pair of sunglasses and a beret staring down at her.

"Hell of an entrance there! You gotta show me how you do that." The girl lowered her sunglasses to look at Aless.

Aless looked at the girl's dark brown eyes through her helmet, her head began to feel heavy, rapidly falling into a concussion induced sleep.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: When I wrote this the first time I did a quick search to see if cancer existed in the Halo universe. the article I found didn't say anything about a cure and so I went with the assumption it wasn't cured. After the fact I had it pointed out to me that it was curable and directed to an article based around that. I dont want to have to rewrite several section of the story to accommodate so here is what Im gonna do. Im gonna break the universe. No cure for cancer exists. Lets just say cancer evolved past what it was and became something all the more dangerous, with cancer being the closest example. That is all.**

 **Authors Note: Ok and that was the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed and any and all criticism is appreciated and encouraged.**

 **We finally have our characters in the world of Remnant, and the other half of this crossover. The transition, to me, feels weak. I would have tried for something better but my editors said they thought it was good and covered the idea well enough. On the upside its rather unique in comparison to the stories I have seen and read, that I again recommend reading.**

 **I would also like to apologize if the cancer bit brought up feelings or memories for any readers.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Alright, here we go again. This chapter is something I am not entirely happy about. It has some details I like and interactions I appreciate, but it feels like it's missing something.**

 **Also once again a big thanks to my editors for all the help and the time they took to look over everything and make it into an acceptable format. The product they see and the one you guys see are two very different things. When it comes to comma usage and sometimes just the different usages' of there, their, and they're I mess up. For small stuff I can get it, sometimes, but for large stories that I need to focus on a story for, I don't notice the little stuff.**

 **As always I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Unknown Location_

Aless felt her head throb, bringing her back to consciousness.

"You okay there lady?" The words were muffled and hard to understand but after a moment Aless looked up at the girl in sunglasses. "You hit the ground at like two hundred miles an hour."

Aless thought about responding, but settled for standing up.

After a moment to regain her bearings, and shake the dizziness, she began to asses her surroundings.

 _A lush green environment, planet with a breathable atmosphere, normal gravity, and clear signs of human habitation._

After a moment longer feeling finally returned to her body and Aless looked down, she was shocked at the state of her armour. While maintaining a similar look to her Mjolnir it had a few key differences. The easiest and most prominent assessment was a new found tightness around her body, from the armour hugging her body more than it had before.

While the armour still had a comfortable feel for the most part, it was a strange feeling with the focused tightness around her chest and waist more than it had before her fall, as well as the helmet felt like it was pinching her head.

The armour's weight was another issue. While with out a doubt lighter it felt like her movements lacked the force usually exerted by the armour's exosuite, the only conclusion she could draw was that the suit had stopped working properly but that raised its own questions.

 _That shouldn't be possible, if it broke I should be dead from just trying to move my body._

Aless put aside the displeasure as she heard the familiar roar of a Pelican engine.

 _Looks like someone else made it off. At least I'll have a ride._

She looked up to be sadly disappointed. The Pelican had a long trail of smoke behind it and was quickly losing altitude. When it impacted the sound was faint but clearly not the sound of a graceful descent. She judged that it was about a mile away and she began to move in the direction of the Pelican before her legs felt weak and she began to trip over.

Aless felt someone step under her and lift her up a little, drawing her attention back to the two girls before her.

"Whoa there, you should probably sit down." Aless looked up to see a girl brown hair and…bunny ears.

"Guess you know the pilot of that ex-shuttle?" The girl in sunglasses asked.

"Yes, that should be the rest of my crew and fireteam. It's important I rendezvous with them immediately. So, if you'll excuse me." Aless made to move on her own, only to be met with pain from her legs up to her head. "AGH!" She would have fallen to the ground were it not for the bunny girl standing before her.

"You're not going anywhere on your own feet...Tell ya what, give us a name and we'll help you out, deal?" The girl in heels put out her hand. "Coco Adel, and the girl holding you up is my partner Velvet."

"Alessandra West." Aless went to take the girls hand before receding when her arm let out a cry of pain. "Could we get going to the pelican now?"

"Sure." Coco moved to Aless' other side and took her out of Velvets hands. "Off to the smoldering wreck of machinery."

Aless wasn't to happy at the statement from the girl about her team but chose to ignore it.

"I like the armour, must be strong, since you did survive that fall. How did that come about?"

"I was blown out of my ship." Aless chose to be vague on the nature of said explosion and who the ship belonged to.

 _They certainly don't look like Insurrectionists, never know though. Although, I don't recall them ever make genetically engineered animal hybrids._

"Was that your ship, the one were going to now?" Coco spoke up from Aless' side.

"No, that's just one of the docking ships." Aless again chose to avoid saying it was a UNSC ship, just in case.

 _This… is too weird. First I get blown out of our ship by some weird blast, now my armour is busted. These girls dont look like soldiers, hell they look like kids, and they're just here to help... It's all to convenient._

The group of girls heard sound beyond the bushes in front of them. The closer they got the more it sounded like people. Aless was hopeful it was UNSC, maybe someone who had a clue about what was going on, she was disappointed. The two people who were talking were men, one giant of a man and one wearing an orange coat. The two stopped talking to look at the girls, the giant spoke first.

"You are also heading towards that shuttle craft?" The giant spoke with a firm voice, yet somehow gentle.

"Yep, Robo Girl here said it has some of her friends on it. She Insisted on going even though she can't really walk and didn't want to wait for the teachers, so we offered to help. Name's Coco." Coco gave a friendly nod but didn't move out from under Aless. "That's Velvet."

"Yatsuhashi Daichi, and this is my partner, Fox Alistair." Yatsuhashi gestured to the other man and then looked at Aless.

"Alessandra West, sorry but we need to get moving, they may need help at the crash site." The pain had been getting worse and Aless was fairly certain she had broken several bones.

"I don't think you'll be doing any fighting, you can't even stand." Coco not so helpfully pointed out.

"I can still fight for a bit, I'll just ignore the pain. I was referring more to medical expertise though." Adrenaline can do a lot in the moment.

"The crash shouldn't be too much farther in that direction." Yatsuhashi gestured behind him and began to move in that direction.

The group began to move that way with Aless and Velvet slowing them down.

"You have medical training?" Velvet swapped out with Coco to act as a partial crutch.

"Yeah, scored top out of my group back in basic." Aless had been fairly proud of that simple fact.

"Basic? So you're military?" Aless looked down at the ground while Fox turned around to join in on the conversation.

 _Crap! I should have left that out._

"Would you mind helping her for a bit, I need to straighten my back." Fox moved to Aless and switched with Velvet.

Aless was glad that her helmet was on so she didn't have to look at the people around her. She was a Spartan being carried by a bunch of teenagers, and she appreciated the save from Velvet, ending the line of conversation before it could delve into her military history saved her a lot of explaining and remvoed the risk of them being influenced by the fact she is UNSC.

The sound of gunshots cut the conversation off. Aless stood on her own feet and ignored the screams of pain her body let out with every step as she ran in the direction of the gunfire. The group followed her with no protest.

When the group got out of the clearing Aless saw the wreck of the Pelican… and several dead marines, and a large black scorpion-like creature with a dead marine in its pincers. Aless made for the pelican instantly, picking up one of the dead marine's Battle Rifle.

"Deathstalker! Velvet, Yatsuhashi, go with Aless!" Coco pulled up her purse as it grew and expanded out to form a large minigun. Aless chose to ignore the blatant impossibility as Coco used her minigun to thin the group of creatures surrounding the 'Deathstalker' before they could get too close, and those that were left were taken care of by Fox with a melee weapon.

By the time Aless, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi got to the Pelican proper, it was clear there were no survivors. Aless heard a loud yell and two more of the scorpion like creatures came barreling through the woods chasing a man in green armour.

"Ben!" Aless regretted losing her composure but turned her attention back to her own problem.

 _He's alive!_

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
Unknown Location_

"Ben!" Aless shouted across the battlefield before realizing she had to focus and turned back to her own giant super-friendly scorpion.

Ben jumped and lunged backwards flipping mid air releasing two shots from the sticky detonators in his hands. He had become somewhat familiar with the creatures he was fighting and had learned they're very well armoured, and so fell back on his favorite saying.

 _Enough explosives will overcome any obstacle._

The creature didn't have a clue what was happening before exploding… and dissolving on the ground.

 _One magical scorpion down, one to go._

Ben rolled to the side the second he hit the ground to avoid the pincer of the thing in front of him. He went to stand before getting knocked down by the scorpion's giant tail, losing grip on his sticky detonators. He hit the ground with a hard crash and rolled back up onto his feet pulling out Jezebel and activating the energy bayonet.

 _This will make a hell of a story if it works._

Ben sprinted towards the scorpion moving to slide at the last second, slipping under the creatures pincers and below its entire body, cutting the thing's soft underbelly the whole way. Ben stood at the end and looked over to Aless and the downed Pelican. He was sad to see the Marines and ODSTs didn't make it, but they would have died sooner if he hadn't drawn the two he just killed off.

Ben watched as Aless fought with a few other people he didn't recognize. He began to notice a few things.

 _Looks like my armour set isn't the only one to change, though it certainly did add some crotch space at the very least._

Ben smirked as he began to move to help her before he felt a sudden jolt hit his body as he was sent hurtling towards the pelican by the scorpion he thought he had killed. When Ben hit the Pelican his nerve system let out a cry as his body was impaled on a piece of the former ship's hull.

 _Me one, magical planets deadly inhabitants one._

Ben pulled himself off the metal shrapnel and moved back to the scorpion. He reactivated Jezebel's energy bayonet and stabbed it through the crippled creature's faceplate, keeping full attention on it while he watched it dissolve and finally be dead.

Ben turned around and fell to his knees. He watched as Aless and her new acquaintances took down the creature. His breathing came out ragged and gurgled. He looked down at his new addition. The metal had gone through and would have been better left in, but he had to finish a fight and couldn't stay stationary. The hole was not close to the worst Ben had ever gotten, was merely a scratch, and yet he couldn't stand up.

 _Sorry Aless, I tried._

He watched as the creature they fought died and Aless visibly relaxed and turned around, only to tense up and sprint in his direction within a second.

"Ben! Shit shit shit!" Ben felt Aless lay him down against a rock and saw her move to pull something out of one of her side pouches before realizing it wasn't there anymore. "Hey! One of you go in the Pelican and grab the Medical crate on the far side! Now!" Aless removed Ben's helmet, setting it to the side and getting a look at his dashingly handsome face.

"Hey Aless, so how was _your_ landing? A little better than mine I hope." Ben gave a weak smile before being interrupted by a cough of blood.

"About the same really." She let off a nervous chuckle, avoiding eye contact. "Though I just used my armour. Show off, crashing a whole Pelican." Aless' voice was wavering with that all to familiar glimmer of emotion. Ben always thought it was far sadder than any tear or set of words, reflecting the full impact of her history stopping her from showing those emotions but it still trying to break through anyways.

"So... I take it you noticed some slight differences with the armour? I blame the Forerunners. Them and their stupid space magic." Ben plastered a fake smile on his face to try and cover the signs of his physical pain.

"Damnit, where's that medical box!?" Aless turned to look back at the Pelican and the four teenagers who were running back.

"It must have been damaged during the crash." the girl with sunglasses said as she held out a smashed medical crate.

"So Aless, I'm gone for like five minutes and you already start replacing me with new friends? Though I can't complain, you need more... and you sure can pick'em. That was some fancy fighting." Ben looked at Aless to see she was focusing on trying to salvage something from the destroyed crate. "Benjamin MacDavis, and who might you all be?" He gave a weak two fingered salute.

It was silent for a second while the group of teenagers looked amongst themselves, before the girl with brown hair and sunglasses stepped forward.

"Coco Adel, the giant is Yatsuhashi and that's his partner Fox, and the one over there in the Pelican looking for another medical box is Velvet." Coco seemed to get more confident of herself as she talked, getting over the fact she was talking to someone who by all accounts was most likely dying.

"Okay, there's still some bio foam left. That will at least tie you over until we get you real medical attention." Aless went to apply the bio foam. She attempted to activate it, only for nothing to come out. "Come on damn it! Give me a break!" Aless turned her attention back to the medical crate. "We need to get him to a doctor!"

"One of the teachers is on their way, they should be here any minute." Velvet rejoined the group.

"In the meantime, we should cauterize the wound. Does anyone have something to create fire with?" Aless looked between the group who all shook their heads in denial.

Ben looked up and saw one specific teen standing there.

 _She has bunny ears! That's adorable!_

Ben smiled faintly and looked back over to Aless.

"See, nothin' to worry about." It wasnt as convincing with him coughing blood out at the end of his sentence. "What could possibly go wrong, right?" Ben couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Oh don't you start on that jinxing crap! This was not my fault." Aless said it, but Ben felt she would blame herself and he couldn't let that happen.

"Do you believe in destiny, Aless?"

"Oh stop being philosophical, it doesn't suit you." Aless shook her head.

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
Vale Outskirts_

Roman Torchwick, Vales most wanted, had seen many things in his life, very few of which stacked up to what he was currently looking at. The person before him had metal spike sticking out his leg, while wielding two glowing swords, wearing some kind of metal super suit, and kicking the collective ass of the thugs Roman had just hired; he was mildly impressed. He had seen the guy fall, from where he wasn't sure, but he hit the ground hard and yet was still able to fight on.

 _Guys got talent I'll give 'em that. To bad he's one of the goody two shoes._

Roman thought for a moment.

 _To be fair he didn't attack us, those idiots attacked him. He's clearly not with the police, too well armed. I wonder…_

Roman waited for the man to finish off the two guards stupid enough to get within melee range of the armour clad warrior before approaching.

"I believe that's enough. You lot shouldn't have done anything without my say so!" Roman turned on the remainder of his men, most of whom were wounded. "Honestly, finding competent help nowadays is all too hard. I believe this was just a simple misunderstanding." Roman removed his hat and gave slight bow. "Roman Torchwick, and this is my merry band of incompetent idiots. Well, except for Neo there." Roman gestured to the waving girl. "And who might you be?"

"..." The man gestured to his chest plate where there was some visible writing.

"Jax, huh? Not the name I would have assumed, but a name's a name."

Jax loosened up slightly into a more comfortable position, that while not as ready for a strike still allowed him time to respond to any attack.

"I can't help but notice you have a bit of an injury. I would be more than willing to help you with that."

Jax stood there silently.

"I'm gonna need an answer kid." Roman took a step back towards his bullhead.

 _All or nothing right?_

"Need to get moving before the authorities get here. What'll it be?" Roman held his breath to see if his gamble would pay off.

 _Something about him doesn't read as law abiding._

The armoured figure deactivated his swords and slowly moved toward the bullhead.

"See, we're all friends here. You lot can walk back to vale." Roman looked out over his sorry excuse for thugs as he boarded the Bullhead.

The bullhead took off as the door closed. Vale was close and wouldn't take too long to get to but the silence was still unsettling with the metal man who didn't seem to notice the wound he was bleeding out of, choosing to only keep a hand on it to slow the bleeding.

"So Jax, tell us about yourself." Roman was hoping to gain some insight into his latest investment.

The silence was slightly bothersome.

"Strong silent type, thats...boring."

The man gestured to his throat and shook his head.

"Wait, you _can't_ talk?" Roman looked to Neo to see her smile grow beyond its usual cocky nature, and after Jax nodded his head, Roman continued. "Neo here can't speak either. What are the odds?"

Jax looked down to his wound and looked back to Roman.

"I have a lacky who can take care of that for you. We should be there in a minute or two."

The rest of the flight was silent, especially since only one of the passengers could actually speak. Upon landing at one of Roman's more expendable hideouts they were met by Hinto, Roman's personal physician.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume it's you I'm here for?" Hinto gestured for them to follow and left in the direction of the warehouse. "How have you been Roman?"

"Oh, fantastic on my end. I hope the warehouse is serving you well." Roman had gifted it to him for his services a few years back, along with a few men to guard it.

"Well enough, though a more sanitary environment would have been appreciated, as well as guards who know what they are doing." Hinto seemed to address the last bit towards one of the guards they were walking past.

"I'll see what we can do." Roman and Neo stopped outside the door as Hinto opened and gestured Jax through. "Will he live doc?"

"Frankly I'm surprised he walked in here without help, going off the fact he doesn't seem to even notice, I think he'll be fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to attend to."

"By all means doc." Roman watched as the doctor walked into his office and closed the door. "So Neo, what do you think of our new friend?" Roman turned from the door and walked back down the hall to one of the main storage rooms that had been converted into a makeshift lounge. "Think he's our kind of people?"

Neo's smile grew even wider as she nodded in confirmation.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Unknown Location_

Aless looked frantically through the remnants of the medical box for any sign of something that would save Ben. If he got medical attention soon he would be fine but Aless couldn't help other than to slow the bleeding.

"I need some cloth! Do any of you have something I can use to cover the wound?" Aless turned towards the group of people who had helped her get to the Pelican in the first place.

Coco removed her belt and ripped off the cloth dangling from the side and handed it to Aless.

"Will that work?" Coco looked towards Fox and Yatsuhashi. "You two go look again in the Pelican, see if it got buried or something."

"This should work fine." Aless ripped the cloth in half, putting one half on the exit hole. "Ben, keep pressure on it." She waited for Ben's hands to move down to it before tending to the wound on his back.

She turned around to look at the Pelican with the hopes of seeing them running back with the familiar white box, but saw nothing. When she turned around she saw Ben holding something out for her to take.

"Just in case I don't make it. Brought me a lot of good fortune, not really needed for a dead man though." Ben let the dog tags dangle in his hand waiting for Aless to take them, her eyes fell to the cross he kept there for luck.

"You… you're gonna be fine Ben. Stop being so dramatic." Aless refused to take the tags from his hands.

"You always were stubborn, I'm sorry." Ben put his arm down.

"You don't have anything to apologize for; well, aside from a shitty landing that is." When Ben didn't respond Aless turned to see his head laying up against the rock with his eyes closed. "Ben! No no no! You can't sleep now! Ben!" Aless' attempts to wake him did nothing.

The sound of engines growing louder did little to calm her nerves.

* * *

 _Glynda Goodwitch  
Emerald Forest_

The Bullhead set down in a field with a gentle thump. When Glynda stepped out she was taken back by the amount of fallen, and slightly relieved to see they weren't students. Her face showed none of this and was stern as usual while she approached the group near a rock on the far side of the field. Four students were standing around two heavily armoured figures, one of whom was frantically tending to the other.

"Professor Goodwitch!" One of the students, Ms. Scarlatina, turned and ran towards her.

"Ms. Scarl-" Glynda was interrupted by one of the two armoured figure yelling.

"We have to get him medical attention now! Someone help me pick him up!" The girl moved to pick up the, hopefully, unconscious man only to be pushed aside by another of the students, Mr. Daichi, as he picked him up alone and began to move towards the Bullhead.

"Students, onto the Bullhead, we will be heading back to Beacon. We have medical staff on hand capable of treating his wounds."

The woman in white armour stood up and looked back over the battlefield for a second, before sprinting towards the ship. After all the students and strangers were on the Bullhead they took off in the direction of the school.

"A medical team will be waiting for us upon arrival, they will take him. The rest of you will be reporting to the Headmaster's office, assuming none of you have your own injuries that need attention."

The four students looked over to the girl in white armour. Who was flicking her head between her wounded companion and the group.

"It is best I seek medical attention as well." The woman's voice came out agitated at the inconvenience of seeking medical attention.

"That will be fine Miss…?"

"West." Miss West sat down on one of the metal seats with visible pain.

"Miss West, when you are well again the headmaster will speak to you." Glynda looked over to the figure laying on the floor. "What is his name?"

"Benjamin MacDavis. If you don't mind me asking, where are we going?"

"Beacon Academy." Glynda moved over to look at Benjamin's wounds.

"Beacon Academy? An academy for what?" Miss West grunted in pain as she reached up and removed her helmet.

"Thats... a lot of scars." Coco spoke her mind, earning a punch in the ribs from Velvet.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ Bullhead on route to Beacon

"If they bother you I can put the helmet back on." Aless went to put it back on.

"I didnt mean it like that... besides that helmet cant be comfortable." Coco rubbed her side where Velvet had hit her.

"It's not that bad." She brought helmet back up and reattached it.

"You really dont have to do that, they dont bother me I was just... surprised."

Aless thought about taking her helmet back off but chose not to as the vehicle landed and they all rushed out onto the landing platform. The medical team was waiting near the landing platform. She watched as Yatsuhashi carefully picked Ben up and moved him onto the gurney.

"They will take you to the medical wing and treat your wounds. Wait there until the headmaster calls you up." The professor took the students and left one way while the medical team went another way with Aless in tow.

Upon arriving at the medical wing Ben was carted down a different path as Aless was lead into a large hallway that looked like it was meant to serve as an overnight area, with four or five beds along the side of the room.

"What are your injuries?" One of the nurses asked and gestured for Aless to sit on one of the beds.

"I believe I broke some of my ribs and sprained my ankle."

"How long before that did your Aura give out?"

"Aura?" The nurse stopped and looked up at Aless.

"You don't have your aura unlocked?" The nurse's face looked perplexed.

"I... I dont have anything called an aura. Is that important?" The nurse wrote something on her clipboard.

"A little, I need to let the nurse who's attending to your friend know that, why were you at initiation if dont have aura?"

"I also hit my head pretty hard from the fall." Aless ignored the question and instead focused on her bodily injures.

"Fall?" The nurse jotted down some notes and looked up to Aless. "How far was the fall?"

"A few kilometers." The nurse' face froze.

"A few kilometers, and you're not dead?" The nurse took down a few more notes before continuing. "Okay, you're gonna have to take that armour off if I'm going to help." The nurse stepped back and pulled a curtain in a circle a few feet around the bed making a makeshift room.

 _It's usually difficult to do this by yourself, but since it seems to be more simplistic, hopefully it won't take to long._

Aless began the process of removing the armour. In the dim light of the makeshift room Aless could see that her undersuit was unchanged. Aless pulled back the curtain for the nurse to come back in.

"Okay, tell me if this hurts." The nurse began to firmly press a few spots on her chest, going down her rib cage until she found one of the broken ribs.

"Agh! Yeah, that one." The nurse wrote down a few things and continued pressing.

"So, what's your name." The nurse asked as she wrote down something correlation to another one of the ribs.

"Alessandra West, Spartan C412." Aless choose to take the formal route for official records.

On the way in Aless had gotten a fair look at the school and city. It was nearby and she came to one solid conclusion, they weren't Insurrectionists. The school itself had some kind of castle theme, while the city in the distance seemed to be slightly more modern and advanced, with actual infrastructure and air traffic. While the city was more advanced than the school it was still primitive looking, something more similar to the style of cities that were on Earth back in the twenty-first century.

 _Definitely not a part of the Insurrectionist movement. They would be way better outfitted._

"Spartan? Never heard of that before, and what would a Spartan be?"

"I'm surprised, I thought everyone knew about us. Spartans are highly trained special forces in service of the UNSC." Aless chose to be vague about their highly controversial job.

"UNSC? I'm afraid you lost me again." The nurse jotted down a few notes and looked back up at her. "Can you lift your leg up and twist your ankle."

Aless lifted her leg as asked and then winced at the pain when she tried to twist her ankle.

"Okay, nothing the doc's semblance can't heal, she'll be here in a minute, in the meantime stay on the bed and keep weight off your foot." The nurse turned around and was about to leave before Aless spoke.

"Will Ben be okay?" Aless hated how clingy and desperate the question sounded.

"He suffered a broken leg, arm, three ribs, concussion, along with lacerations across his left arm, a potentially punctured lung, and then there's that puncture around his waist. An inch or two to the left or up and it would have been a gut wound and he would have bled out before you got here. As it is he lost a lot of blood and is currently unconscious. From what Professor Goodwitch said he was one of the people in the crash, right?"

"Yes, his Pelican crash landed." Aless watched as the nurse wrote down the name of the vehicle.

"Well, upon landing he hit his head pretty bad, and without an aura he wasn't protected with anything but his armour."

"Would you mind explaining what an aura is?"

"Hm, what?" The nurse stopped for a moment and looked up at Aless.

"You said without an aura he wasn't protected, and you were surprised when I said I don't have one, but you never explained what it was." If it offers more protection than Spartan armour it could be very useful.

"It's kinda hard to explain, I'll get you a book or two on it. I thought everyone knew about auras, and I'm gonna guess you don't know about semblances?" The nurse pulled out a bottle from her pocket. "Take two of these for the pain."

"You would be correct, about the semblance thing."

The nurse sighed.

"We have a few books about it from a medical perspective, you'll be here for a while so I will lend them to you to keep you busy. From what we understand aura is the manifestation of the soul. It acts as a shield for our body, protecting us from harm as well as enhancing our natural abilities, of course thats just one theory."

"Manifestation of the soul… sounds like magic."

"Eh, what's the difference between magic, science and natural ability? It's just a matter of understanding really. Anyways I need to do my rounds, the doc will be here shortly." The nurse left for a moment before coming back with two books in her hand. "This one is a general book about the use of aura and semblances." she set the book down on the night stand next to the bed. "And this one is a book explaining all the different theories of exactly what aura is, enjoy." as the nurse left Aless got a look out the window along the wall, seeing that it was already sunset.

Aless picked up the general knowledge book and began to read as the light in the room grew dimmer, she didn't get far before falling asleep.

* * *

 _Headmaster Ozpin  
Headmaster's office_

Ozpin looked at a recording of the events of that day. For the most part it had been a standard initiation, while the task was different form the year before it was nothing extraordinary, until those strangers crashed. He pulled up the medical report that had been punched into the computer network.

 _Alessandra West, Spartan C412. That's quite a list of injuries._

He then pulled up the other file.

 _Benjamin MacDavis, injury induced coma. You certainly came out worse for wear, and a notice to be under constant medical supervision until pending test return._

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and looked at the two girls sitting across from him.

"You two certainly have had an eventful day, haven't you ladies?" Velvet scarlatina and Coco Adel had stayed behind, at Ozpin's request, for further questions.

"Na, we deal with initiations and deadly wounds on the daily." Mrs. Adel spoke sarcastically and gave an exaggerated head roll.

"Don't worry, I only have a few more questions for you, and then you can go spend time with your new team."

"Team? I thought those were gonna be assigned tomorrow?" Mrs. Scarlatina spoke this time.

"They are officially assigned tomorrow, however I have already made my choice for your team. You will be dubbed team CFVY, team Coffee. With Ms. Adel as your leader." Ozpin gestured to the surprised girl.

"Me? I don't know if-" Ozpin interrupted her before she could finish.

"I assure you, you will be a fine leader, you displayed that during initiation. Now if you will indulge me, I have a few questions about the people you encountered."

"Robo-Girl and Ben?" Coco leaned back in her chair.

"Yes, about them."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Jax working with criminals, Ben in a coma, this chapter had a fair bit of stuff if I say so myself. This chapter also reveals the timeline of the story, a year before the events of the show take place. I'm mainly doing this so I can use the time to improve my writing skills and give myself all the room I can get before I have to portray events everyone already know, and have expectations of.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and as always I encourage any and all criticisms and recommendations.**

 **Sincerely SE**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Okay, finally got this all typed up. It felt like this took way longer than it should have to get finished. The time it took to actually type it wasn't that long but that time was spread out over like two weeks. I really wanted to have this up and posted by now. Well what are ya gonna do.**

 **So I think this chapter went better than the last, but it still is lacking a major plot pusher. I have one in the works the problem is that I don't wanna slack these chapters to get to it, so I appreciate your patience.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Ozpin  
Headmaster's office_

The headmaster lifted his coffee cup to his lips to give the two students he was questioning time to simmer. He doubted that they would lie, and doubted he needed to use actual interrogation techniques, but habits built up over lifetimes die hard.

"We have the events mostly on cameras, but the exact landing area for Ms. West was just outside of their range. I was hoping you would tell me what drove you to go towards the crash."

"Vel here saw something come down in a ball of fire and we both felt the impact. We were only a few hundred meters away so we went to look. Honestly, I thought it was another initiate, until we saw the state she was in." Ms. Adel had elected to speak while Ms. Scarlatina shifted awkwardly in her seat.

Ozpin had taken note of the duo. Glynda thought they would be polar opposites but Ozpin believed otherwise. Ms. Adel could use the lesson in humility and Scarlatina could use some help opening up.

"The state she was in? Are you referring to her injuries?" Ozpin focused his attention of Ms. Adel only giving slight glances over to Scarlatina for confirmation.

"She was pretty rattled. I'm guessin' she hit the ground pretty hard, she seemed to be kinda broken. Though, she did lose that when we got into the actual combat." Ms. Adel stated.

"Adrenaline can have quite an effect on people and their perception of pain. What did you make of the crash sight? The one with the aircraft." Ozpin took another sip of his coffee.

"Don't you have cameras in that area? Plus, Professor Goodwitch saw it, why ask us?" Ms. Adel asked with less an accusatory tone and more one born of curiosity as she looked to Glynda standing to the the right of Ozpin.

"We do have the whole event on camera, and yes I have Professor Goodwitch's account, I wanted to hear it from you." Ozpin gestured to the two with his coffee cup.

"Frankly sir, it was carnage. The soldier guys were... dead… before we actually got there. Their Bullhead was swarming with Grimm. Robo Girl ran in and we had to help her, then Ben showed up. It got out of hand pretty quick. Though, I will say Benny had some sweet moves, he sliced through those Deathstalkers like they were nothing… well sliced is only appropriate for the one he didn't blow up-" Ms. Adel began to ramble as Ozpin thought she would. The circumstances were not very friendly for students, and seeing dead people for the first time had unpredictable results on a person's psyche, only time would tell if there would be any after-effects. Ozpin was all to familiar with dreams of the battlefield and found himself hoping, for their benefit, that they could just forget what they saw.

"How did Ms. West take it? The battlefield, I mean." Ozpin finished off his coffee and set it down on the desk in front of him.

"I don't think she really noticed. I mean, she didn't seem bothered by the fact her friends were dead. Who can just shrug that stuff off?" Ms. Adel looked off to the right of Ozpin and out the window behind him.

"She was worried about Benjamin though." Ms. Scarlatina pointed out the fact she thought Ms. Adel had missed.

"We don't know how she was related to them, for all we know she didn't know them. She certainly shows compassion for Mr. MacDavis however. Thank you for staying, and if you don't have any questions than you may leave." Ozpin leaned back in his chair.

"What are you gonna do with them?" Ozpin was a little surprised by the question Ms. Adel had asked him as she looked back to him.

 _What to do with a duo of trained, military disciplined, soldiers?_

"Offer them a scholarship of course." Ozpin was joking, the school was free once you got in, aside from the books.

"But they didn't come here for the school. Plus they didn't finish initiation, and aren't they too old?" Miss Adel didn't sound mad or annoyed, merely perplexed.

"Semantics, our institution doesn't have age limits, its usually teenagers who join our school, but not exclusively. We have let older people in from time to time. Not everyone has the chance to seek higher education from a young age; sometimes its better to wait a few years. The fact is they are at least somewhat skilled and may need our help. I won't force them, merely offer. Will that be all?" When he was met with silence he continued. "Then you may be excused."

The two girls looked at each other before getting up and heading for the elevator. Ozpin waited until the display above the elevator said that it was on the ground level before turning to Glynda.

"What do you think?" Ozpin always valued her input on matters related to the school.

"I'm concerned with Ms. Adel's ease when talking about the deceased. I think she's still in shock. I merely hope that team CFVY doesn't dwell on what they saw." Her first concern was always the students.

"A reasonable idea. I was referring to our two mystery soldiers though." Ozpin opened one of the large doors on his desk revealing coffee machine and refilled his cup.

"They certainly possess training and impressive battlefield capabilities, but the report also says they lack Aura." Ozpin hadn't asked Glynda to look through the medical report, but he didn't mind. She was far more useful when she was informed.

"We don't know what they may have seen. They certainly weren't armed like standard hunters. You are correct though, without Aura they are certainly at a loss but is possible that their aura has been blocked for some reason." Most humans possess the ability to manifest an Aura, while not impossible, it was unheard of for someone to not be able to.

"I recommend getting in contact with Ironwood, if any government knows who they are then it would be Atlas." Ozpin took a sip from his fresh cup.

"I believe it's time we talk to Ms. West, don't you?" Ozpin stood and began to move towards the elevator and gestured for Glynda to follow.

"I don't know if she will reveal much, she is still an unknown." Glynda followed him to and got in the elevator. "I think we should call in someone who can watch them, at all times."

"Lets just hope he isn't drunk… still."

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Beacon Medical wing_

Aless was a little upset at the sound of the large doors closing waking her up. She had drifted off into one of the most comfortable sleeps she had had in years. She slowly opened her eyes, preparing for bright light but was met with a soft glow from the desk lamp in her tented off corner. She looked over to a digital clock on the nightstand and saw that it was still late.

 _Why couldn't I have gotten a few more hours?_

Aless rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but was unable. From the time she began Spartan training until the last day she had slept on the Infinity she had never woken up and gone back to bed. She often thought about it and acted like she had a choice, but her training would always kick in and keep her awake. While useful on missions it proved annoying during one's downtime. Aless sat up and looked at the book on her lap.

 _Guess I should keep reading up on Aura,_

Aless picked the book up and intended to finish it off before a voice rose from the other side of the curtain.

"May I have a moment of your time Ms. West?" The voice had a depth to it that Aless couldn't pin down, authoritative while still trying to be relatable, but there was something more, an underlying tone of... something.

"Yeah." Aless set the book down and stood up in a somewhat formal position.

The man and woman that pulled back the curtain and stepped in were not exactly what Aless had been picturing. The man had silver hair and his clothes were simple, primarily green. When Aless looked into the man's eyes she felt strange, they were a thin brown color but had a depth that didn't fit. As Aless looked at his eyes she saw him do the same to her.

"How are your injuries?" The man with the eyes spoke while making eye contact with her, focusing on her. Aless felt a little uneasy under his gaze.

"They're nothing, hardly notice them." That was a lie, Aless was in a fair amount of pain, she had learned to suppress not the pain, but the desire to act on it. She still felt the broken ribs and bruises but she chose not to act on the soreness.

"I find that unlikely." The man finally turned away from her eyes and gestured to the woman standing to his right. "This is Professor Goodwitch, she was the one who arrived by Bullhead to get you and your friends." he turned back to Aless and continued. "My name is Ozpin, and I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"Alessandra West, Spartan C412." Aless again chose the formal route.

"So tell me Aless, what were you doing in the Emerald Forest?" The Headmaster gestured towards the window out of which you could see the aforementioned forest.

"It was a crash landing, our ship took some kind of damage and we had to evacuate. I didn't make it to any of the escape pods or shuttles and was thrown out of the ship." Aless was beginning to have doubts about the people she was around. Most of their tech was primitive, she chose the vague route to avoid suspicion.

"Your armour must be quite strong to be able to take such an impact." The Headmaster gestured towards the pile of armour laying on the table at the foot of the bed.

"It certainly is something." Aless was still unsure of how she survived the fall. Spartan armour could take the impact and give her a chance of surviving, not the armour she saw before her. It looked mostly like what her armour used to, but it had subtle differences that gave it a slightly more primitive nature.

"Are you going to try and return home?" The Professor spoke this time.

"I'm afraid I'll have to wait until they find me, there isn't a way for me to contact them beyond activating a distress signal." Aless was unsure how long it would take the UNSC to find her and she could try to contact them via the planets communications network but she was beginning to doubt they would have the means to do so.

"Do you have a distress beacon on you?" The Headmaster took charge again.

"No, but the Pelican should have one on it. I was going to head out when morning came around to retrieve it and bury the bodies." Aless again felt strange when the Headmasters eyes dug into hers, she felt they were looking for something, just what she couldn't tell.

"Are you sure that's wise, with your injuries?" Aless turned to the Professor.

"I need that distress signal up and I can't leave their bodies out in the open. So I will be heading out." Aless tried to not sound annoyed. She knew that many people would have advised her against it but she was determined, it was just something she had to do.

"In that case I would like to send someone with you, if that would be ok." The headmaster turned and began to leave but stopped to hear her answer.

"Assistance would be appreciated. I don't know my way around the forest and a guide would be helpful." Aless would rather not get lost in the monster infested forest.

"I have just the man. He is rather unorthodox, but an excellent fighter and good navigator. He should be here by noon. In the meantime, I recommend you get some sleep." The Headmaster took a sip out of his cup and left the makeshift room, closing the curtain behind him.

Aless stood there for a second waiting for the sound of the door closing before relaxing back on the bed.

 _What was with his eyes?_

* * *

 _Ozpin  
Beacon Corridor_

"That was enlightening." Ozpin let a smile crept across his face.

"You sa-" Glynda stopped and turned to him before he interrupted her.

"I know Glynda, I know." Ozpin continued down the hall towards the elevator up to his office. "I have to make a call."

Ozpin waited until the elevator began to move before pulling up his scroll and calling the man he hoped was still in town. The scroll dialed a few times before he answered.

"This had better be important Oz." Qrow Branwen's voice sounded irritated and tired.

"I hope I didn't wake you." Ozpin exited the elevator and sat behind his desk

"Of course you woke me. What you want?" Qrow was quick to the point.

"You're still in Vale right?" Ozpin waited to hear a confirmation before continuing. "I need you to get to Beacon by eleven tomorrow, and bring your weapon." Ozpin doubted Qrow would leave it behind, but that was a hint as to what the Ozpin need him for.

"You're gonna do this cryptic crap until I'm there in person, aren't you?"

"See you tomorrow, before noon." Ozpin hung up just as he heard the defeated sigh come through the speaker.

 _This sure is shaping up to be an interesting year._

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
Roman's Hideout_

"Your wound wasn't too major, nothing my Semblance couldn't take care of anyways." Hinto and Jax had spent about an hour in his office.

Jax expected the wound to take a little time to heal, he could ignore the pain no problem, but he expected there to be a while before it was back to normal, only it was now almost fully healed. Hinto explained it as a Semblance, half the reason he became a doctor was because of it's healing abilities. Jax didn't know what a Semblance was and didn't really care, it was convenient and helped to heal him exponentially faster. He even had time to get his armour back on.

"I do need to know if your choosing to not speak or you physically can't?" Hinto pulled up a clipboard and jotted down a few notes before throwing it onto the desk.

Jax answered his question by holding up two fingers.

"I could see if it's something I can heal, if you want?" He began the process of washing the blood of his hands.

Jax shook his head no and then got up from the table heading towards the door.

"Roman will want to talk to you I'm sure. He should be in the lounge, down the hall and the third door on the left, big room, can't miss it." The doc gestured towards the door and turned back to his sink.

Jax left the office and quickly found his way to the lounge.

"Ah if it isn't our tin man. Doc didn't give you any bad news I trust?" Roman was sitting on a couch along the wall playing poker with his pink compatriot. "Care to play a game against me and Neo there?" Roman gestured for Jax to take a seat.

Jax took a look at his hud and decided he had time to kill.

 _UNSC won't even know we're gone for a few days, might as well enjoy the days off._

Jax pulled up a folding chair, taking off his helmet, and joined in on the card game. Jax didn't know too much about where he was but he knew one thing, they weren't UNSC and he doubted that they were Insurrectionists.

Jax turned his attention to the poker game. When he was still an ONI operative back during the war he used to play to kill time. He had never been as good as some of the officers, but it served as a good distraction from the missions. He wasn't used to playing for money, like they were currently, but figured it out easily enough.

"So Jax, I have a proposal for ya, if you're interested? We could consider it payment for our stellar medical services." Roman didn't look up from his cards.

Jax tilted his head to the side and waited for Roman to continue.

"It might not be entirely legal, that a problem?" Roman did look up this time, directly into Jax's eyes.

Jax sent a nod in Romans direction before turning his attention back to the cards in front of him.

 _I suppose its only fair to pay them back._

"It's just a simple rough up job. Some small time crook thinks he can weasel his way up through the ranks, I was gonna send Neo after him, thought that you could give her a helping hand." Roman put his cards down. "Are you on board?" Roman tensed up in anticipation of Jax's response.

Jax nodded in his direction and watched as Roman relaxed a little.

 _Might be useful to have a resourceful man like Torchwick on my good side._

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Beacon Plaza_

Aless had hoped to be underway by now, but had been stuck waiting for her escort from the academy. The Bullhead, as she learned they called their VTOLs, wasn't allowed to leave without the Headmaster's permission which had yet to come.

"Aless I take it?" Aless turned to see a slightly hunched man with black hair and wearing a grey dress shirt.

"You must be my escort, are we ready to go then?" Aless' eyes fell to his weapon of choice, and she let out a sigh.

 _Why cant they use guns like every other civilized planet? Why does it have to be a sword?_

"Qrow Branwen at your service, and yeah, we're good to go." He moved to the bullhead ahead of Aless. "No weapon on you; gotta ask, is that confidence or arrogance?"

"They don't have weapons I'm familiar with here at Beacon, I should be able to salvage something at the crash though. Plus, I have my armour." Aless secured herself in to one of the seats as the man merely leaned against one of the walls.

"Pilot, know where we're headin'?" He looked towards the cabin and laid down over several of the seats.

"I filled him in while waiting for you to arrive. He will drop us at the crash sight and return a few hours later. Hope you don't mind digging." Aless kept her attention on the man's weapon.

"Digging?" He looked physically distraught.

"We have to dig about six to eight holes."

"Why do we need to dig holes?"

"Can't leave the bodies out in the open. They deserve better than that." Aless looked out the open bay door to the forest below.

"Oh… got shovels?" He sat up.

"They'll be on the Pelican."

The rest of the flight was quiet other than the sound of the Bullhead's engines. Once the Bullhead got to the clearing with the crashed Pelican the pilot spoke up.

"LZ looks clear of Grimm, but I can't guarantee how long that will be. I'll be within Scroll range if you need me."

Aless and Mr. Branwen jumped off the Bullhead and looked out across the day old battlefield.

"Wow." He took a step in the direction of the downed pelican. "Shovels in there?"

"Yeah, they should be in a compartment on the far wall. I'm gonna round up their dog tags."

"If you need me, just scream really loud." He set off in the direction of the Pelican leaving Aless alone.

Aless moved over to two of the downed marines and rolled their bodies over.

 _Private Randall Scott and Corporal Laramie Johnson._

Aless picked up one of their bodies and dragged it off towards a soft looking patch of ground, came back, and did the same for the other. Before heading off to one of the marines spread out from the rest.

 _Sergeant Wulf Leonard, hope you don't mind me taking your DMR._

Aless attached the mans rifle to her back and pulled his body over to the other two when she was joined by Mr. Branwen.

"Where do you want me to dig?" He spoke softly, expecting Aless to have a lot more emotional attachment to them then what she did.

"Start over there, I'll bring the rest over and then help you dig." Aless set off for the other three near the Pelican itself.

Aless walked over to the Pelican and gathered the dogtags.

 _Corporal Johansen, Private Watson and Sergeant Porez._

Aless carried their bodies over to the grave sight and helped Qrow dig the graves. The next hour and a half of time was spent digging with an awkward silence between the two. When the bodies had been buried, Aless and Qrow stood and looked out over the graves.

"Did you know them very well?" he took a flask of his hip and took a long drink.

"No, they were supposed to be our reinforcements if my fireteam needed help but we accomplished our objective without them. They were only on the Pelican because they were in the hangar when the ship went down." Aless took her helmet off.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save you. I didn't get here fast enough, I was injured and let it slow me down. It'll never happen again." Aless looked out at the markers. She had seen plenty of graves and lost many soldiers in her service career, when she looked out across the few graves there she saw far more than the six that had died on that field, she saw a near endless array of makeshift gravestones and hastily dug final resting places.

She wished it made her feel something for them but it didn't, she didn't know them and she didn't feel anything for them aside from shame that she had been unable to save them. The fact their lives were lost hardly registered.

During times like this she turned her focus to the task at hand, the mission.

 _I need to relink up with the UNSC and find out what they want us to do. Maybe I can find out a little bit more about that artifact, see if the effects can be reversed._

"What was the mission?" Qrow offered Aless his flask.

"Some random group of Insurrectionists found something the UNSC thought was a weapon, we couldn't leave it in their hands, so they sent a Spartan team, Fireteam Delta." Aless didnt take the flask from Branwen's hand. "They had a term for our squad, back at our base. They called us the "Fire on the Infinity" because we weren't a team. We did well, but in the end, they were right, we weren't a team."

"Who's to say it's the end?" Mr. Branwen took his flask back and reattached it to his waist.

"I appreciate the sentiment but half our team is gone. It's a miracle Ben and I made it, I doubt Jax or Roberts did." The sound of the Bullhead's engine interrupted their conversation. "I need to scrounge up some gear before we go." Aless turned and made her way to the Pelican.

Aless looked for the distress beacon to no avail. The Pelican did have a surplus of ammo and weapons. She had managed to find Ben's standard load out and some that were similar to her usual style, though lacking the modifications.

What was the most intriguing however was the locator, not for the Pelian but the Token itself. The ship served as a transport and ground operations vessel, and as such was set up with means for the Pelicans to track the main ship. She hadn't expected the ship to have crashed planetside, let alone only a few hours away by air. The Token would have the means to contact the UNSC. Aless jotted down the coordinates for the ship and carried out the crate carrying Ben's guns and ammo. When she got out she saw Mr. Branwen and the pilot talking.

"Would you two mind helping me with a few crates?" Aless handed the crate to the pilot and turned back to the Pelican with Branwen in tow.

"What is all this stuff?"

"Guns, ammo, repair gear, and some basic tech components." Aless handed him a large duffel bag.

"You know Beacon probably has most this stuff back at the school right?" Mr. Branwen turned and picked up one of the boxes along the ground, and made for the Bullhead.

"Don't worry, I should have the last of it. Besides, I can't risk it falling into someone else's hands." Aless set a small package on the inner wall against the cockpit. "You may want to get some distance." Aless walked over to the Bullhead and checked to make sure the crash site was clear before pulling up the detonator.

With a flick of a switch and a sudden jolt of electricity to the transmitter there was a second of silence, followed by a sudden explosion.

"Was that really necessary?" Mr. Branwen mounted the Bullhead and held his hand out for Aless to take.

"Like I said, couldn't let it fall into enemy hands." She handed him the duffel bag she was carrying and pulled herself up. "Ok, let's get back. Wouldn't want Ben waking up all alone."

As if awaiting her verification, the Bullhead set off in the direction of the academy.

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
Romans Hideout_

The crime boss paced back and forth in his private room speaking with Neo. While Neo could say very little, her insight was always worth while.

"I want you to watch his every move, if he does anything weird let me know." Roman took a cigar out of his coat and lit it, breathing in the smoke, and looking over to Neo.

Neo gave a nod and began to move for the door, before Roman continued.

"I want you to get a little info from some of them, take generic henchmen one and two to do the talkin, I'll fill 'em in on what to ask. You may have to get… creative in order to get an answer." Roman took another drag of his cigar before continuing. "Have the robot do the dirty work."

Neo left and Roman took a second to think.

 _Bringing that stranger in is a risky move, he'll either be invaluable or a problem. Maybe I should have gone with something less dirty… no. I need to know how far he'll go. I need all the help I can get these days._

A steady beeping tone alerted Roman to his scroll.

 _Think of the devil and she shall appear._

"And what is it you need now?" Roman waited for the voice to speak up.

The feminine voice to come over the line was one he had come to know. A soft sultry voice that possessed a certain level of authoritative power to it and an unspoken threat.

 _All the help I can get._

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Beacon Medical Wing_

By the time the Bullhead had made it back to Beacon most the day had been lost and it was now growing dark. Aless had intended to head directly to the headmaster to arrange a place for her to store her gear, but decided to check on Ben first. As she entered the medical wing she was approached by a nurse.

"Hello again ma'am, is something the matter?" Aless patiently waited for a response.

"It's about your partner, I'm afraid it isn't the best news." The nurse stopped and looked down at her clipboard.

"What's the matter?" Aless attempted the calmest tone she could manage.

"It will take a minute to explain, does he mind waiting?" The nurse looked over Aless' shoulder at Mr. Branwen.

"Sure, Mr. Branwen would you mind waiting a minute?" He nodded and leaned against the wall. "So what's his condition?"

"It's… complicated, we are currently keeping him in a medically induced coma. His body is still in rough shape, and without an Aura, it will take considerably longer to heal." The nurse looked down at her clipboard.

"How long do you think he'll need to get back to a hundred percent?" Aless kept her voice neutral.

"Honestly, we aren't sure if he'll make a full recovery or not, he lost a lot of blood and that messed up his body's ability to heal as well as it normally should have." Aless jerked her head up to the nurse while waiting to hear more. "It's not a determined thing, it will all depend on him."

"Is that all?" Aless waited to see the nurse nod. "May I see him?" Aless began moving to the door before she heard a yes or no.

She was accompanied by the nurse and Mr. Branwen into his room. While Aless only had a curtained off section, Ben had an actual room. The nurse left to do her rounds and Mr. Branwen waited in the doorway.

Aless looked at Ben laying still in the bed, waiting to hear him say some kind of snarky joke, only to be met by silence.

"Just like you to take a long nap when I could use your help. I have some coordinates for some wreckage of the Token, I think I'll wait until you're up to go check it out though, never know what I might find." Aless stopped speaking for a second, again expecting a sarcastic comment, only to be disappointed again. "If I would have acted quicker you might not have lost so much blood, I'm sorry." Aless turned and looked away from the bed. "I should have done something... I'll wait to hear what you have to say about it when you wake up... I buried the bodies of the men you managed to get off the Token, they're at the crash site. I… I need you Ben, god you would have a joke or two for that." Aless smiled softly at the thought of what he would say, were he able to, before stepping back from the bed and turning towards the door. "Let's get up to your headmaster." Aless gestured for Mr. Branwen to lead the way.

"I could use a drink, do you drink?" he pushed himself off the wall and went through the main doors out into the Beacon hallways.

"I don't usually, besides, we need to report to Headmaster Ozpin." Aless watched as he turned heading towards the Bullhead landing pads.

"He'll understand, come on, I'm buying." He gestured for her to follow and kept walking.

Aless thought about declining but decided it could serve as an effective way to destress. She made to follow before she thought of an important question.

When they landed Aless took a second to get a look at her surroundings. The city reminded her of the kinda stuff she saw in movies about the twentieth and twenty-first century, with highways and buildings lining the roads. She liked the style of the buildings but wasn't a fan of all the people. In truth the city was fairly abandoned once you got off the main road and took the side paths, since it was so late in the day, leaving a mostly vacant street lit by the soft glow of the sunset. Mr. Branwen lead her down the road a few blocks before he turned to talk to her.

"We could take a taxi, its kinda far, but the scenery is nice if you wanna walk. Which would you like?" He stopped on the sidewalk and waited for her to respond.

"Why ask me?" Aless didn't have any money to pay for a taxi so she couldn't understand why he felt she should make the call.

"Well it's clear you haven't ever seen Vale before, so I thought you might appreciate the scenic route, follow me." He crossed the street and began telling her about some of the local attractions.

Aless payed only partial attention to what he was saying as she looked out over the city.

"It has a nice calmness to it." Aless spoke low not really expecting him to hear her, but he did.

"What, the city? Not exactly what I would call calm." He kept walking and lead her down a few more streets.

"It's usually pretty hectic back at the base." Aless began to take notice of a few details.

The largest of which was the primitive nature of the whole city, she couldn't make out any evidence of technology developed within the last three hundred years. She was beginning to think she stumbled across some kind of religious anti-technology culture or something.

 _I need to get to the wreckage of the Token, it will hopefully be able to tell me where I am._

Aless' attention snapped back to reality as she was led onto a pier of some kind. As she looked out over the sea she found herself speechless. She slowly removed her helmet to look out over the beautiful symphony of colors with her own eyes. As this planet's star fell below the horizon the light reflected off the water and through the clouds creating a contrast of pink, orange, and yellow. She took a deep breath and smelt the salt water in the air and could feel the lazy breeze from the ocean flowing in. She tried to think if she had ever seen anything so beautiful in her life, but came up blank. She had seen sunsets and sunrises before but they never carried the same beauty. She had heard that they were somewhat rare, and she never stayed on world long enough to enjoy them, she was awestruck.

"And that would be why we take the scenic route. Come on, bar's just down here." Mr. Branwen interrupted her train of thought and turned her towards the establishment they were heading to, though she found herself looking out over the ocean more than in the direction they were going. "Here we are." He pulled gestured towards a table and took a seat himself. Aless took note of the fact that he gave her the seat facing the sunset and beautiful arrangement of colors in the sky.

"What can I get you?" The bartender didn't leave his bar but shouted out at them.

"I'll have a bottle of your most popular stuff and two glasses." Qrow turned his attention back to Aless. "Just as a warning, don't try to out-drink me, it's not good for your health." After a moment of silence that left it clear she wasn't gonna respond he continued. "So where you get the armour?"

"It was given to me by the UNSC in the later part of my training." _To be fair though, this isn't exactly the same gear._

"What exactly is this UNSC?" Aless was only partly surprised by his question, already knowing people did not apparently know who the UNSC was.

"They are a military organization that consists of Earth and her colonies." She chose a loose definition to leave her room to move if she had to explain her way out.

"Earth, huh? Can't say I ever heard of that one." And in a single sentence she found out what she needed. No matter who you were, no matter where you were in UNSC space you knew what Earth was.

 _So they really are clueless? How did this happen? A large group of humans on some planet in the middle of nowhere with no knowledge of the UNSC, space travel or even Earth._

"I've been in the UNSC for... nineteen years... how time flies." Nineteen years of military service and she was just barley above the legal age to drink.

Aless looked back over to where the sunset was, only to be disappointed to find it had already set and the colors where now gone. The darkness slowly becoming more and more prevalent as the street lights flicked on.

"So this UNSC, does it usually train kids to be soldiers?" Aless returned her attention to the man before him. "And your parents are just ok with that?" The bartender walked over and poured the two of them drinks before setting the bottle down and walking back to his counter.

"Spartan III applicants were orphans, I didn't know my parents." She took a second to see if he would say anything but he didn't. "And to answer your question; no, the UNSC doesn't usually train kids, but we were desperate." Aless picked up her drink and swallowed the liquid, ignoring the burning sensation as it went down her throat.

"Who were you at war with?" Aless again found herself astonished with the lack of knowledge of the people on the planet.

"The Covenant." She interrupted him before he could ask the question. "They were a group of fanatic spiritualist warriors bent on wiping out what they saw as inferior lifeforms. The war only ended a few years ago."

"You said you were a Spartan III, is that what your buddy is?" The subject change was appreciated.

"No, he's a Spartan IV. They were recruited from the normal military." Aless thought back to her first training mission against Spartan IV's and how unfair the balance had been in her favor.

"What was he before becoming a Spartan?" Aless found herself suspicious of his questions.

"Why all the questions Mr. Branwen?"

"Ugh, call me Qrow, I'm not that old yet, and you caught me. I'm tryin' to find out more about you. Would you mind humoring me?" It was silent for a moment before he said something more. "I'm not askin' for military secrets here."

"Ben was Force Recon, special forces used for reconnaissance and covert operations. They aren't as good as ODST or Spartan fireteams, but they have the numbers advantage. It's actually pretty common for them to be moved into an ODST unit. Ben was exceptionally good at his job, enough so that when the war ended they extended an offer for the Spartan IV project. I doubt he hesitated." Aless took another drink.

"How long have you known him?" Qrow topped off both of their drinks.

"We both got assigned to Fireteam Delta at the same time, It was about two years ago." Aless paused for a moment. "You don't seem to happy with the idea of training kids to be soldiers, kinda hypocritical don't you think? You work at a Huntsman academy, that's not all that different."

"I dont work at Beacon, I work at signal, and we train Huntsmen and Huntresses, not soldiers. This isn't Atlas. They are warriors yes, and in times of war they will most likely be called to serve, but they aren't soldiers… not yet, not if I can help it." Qrow took a large drink of his glass and poured some more. "So, what about the rest of your team? I'm assuming there are more?"

"You would be right, our team had four members. James Roberts was our squad leader, most people called him Roberts and a few called him Sir, though that was mostly Ben when he was drunk." Aless let off a slight chuckle at the thought of the first time he had used that moniker and his subsequently poor explanation. "There was Jackson Rodriguez, Ben and I called him Jax, it's actually kinda funny because it has nothing to do with his name, it's a joke about how he's a jack of all trades kinda guy. He served as our sniper and Ben's copilot, though he had a range of other skills; he was also mute." Aless finished off her drink and Qrow poured her another. "Benjamin MacDavis, everyone calls him Ben, he served as our demolitions expert as well as our pilot. He was also our gun nut, he built most his guns from scratch. He was pretty popular, most people got along with him in some capacity." Aless thought back to his last encounter with some of the officers on the Infinity. "Mostly."

"I got a niece that's the same way when it comes to guns. What was your job?" Qrow looked disappointed at the third of alcohol left in the bottle as he poured himself another.

"I served as the team medic, translator, communications specialist, electronics specialist, and I was second in command." Aless finished her glass and stood up.

"I'll get the tab." Qrow followed her motion and went over towards the counter.

After paying they walked back onto the pier and Aless reattached her helmet and looked up at the moon.

 _What. The. Fuck. That is physically impossible. The moon is shattered… and just floating there._

She became very thankful for her helmet as she was sure her mouth was wide open, Qrow didn't seem to notice the broken moon.

"That's an impressive alcohol tolerance for someone who doesn't drink." He set off in the direction they had come from.

"I have some physical modifications done that make it hard for me to get drunk, hence the reason I don't drink." She thought about how nice it would have been to be able to blackout drink.

"Welp, we better get back to Beacon and talk to Oz." The two walked back to the landing pads in silence, Aless enjoyed the city at night.

* * *

 _Ozpin  
Headmasters office_

"I trust you did all you needed to at the crash site?" Ozpin gestured for the two to sit but neither did.

"Yes sir, I would like to request somewhere to store my gear until a time the UNSC can retrive me." Qrow and Alessandra both had the faint smell of alcohol on them but Ozpin chose to ignore it.

"Of course, I will have a room set aside for you and Benjamin, how is he?" Ozpin noticed Aless' shoulders sink just a tiny bit.

"He is still unconscious to help with the healing process." This was not news to Ozpin, he kept close eyes on the two's medical reports.

"I am sorry to hear that." Ozpin did not lie, however. "I'll have the room ready in a few hours. There is another matter I wished to speak to you of." Ozpin pulled up a file on his computer. "You don't exist. I have called in favours from both Vale and Atlas and neither of them have heard of you or your organization. So either I'm being lied to, it's a new organization, or its top secret. Regardless, It poses a problem for me, as I can't have someone so shady in my school if the council start snooping around." Ozpin stopped and took a drink of his coffee and was interrupted before he could continue.

"Ben and I will leave as soon as possible, I merl-" Ozpin interrupted her this time.

"You misunderstand, I am not kicking you out, far from it actually. If the council comes looking I am not allowed to withhold you from them. However, if you were a student, that would be different."

"I don't know how long w-" Ozpin didnt let her finish.

"You'll be allowed to leave whenever this... UNSC, comes for you. We will also aid in any way we can to get you back in contact with them."

"What about Ben?" Ozpin hid his smile behind a cup of coffee.

"If you accept he will be brought in as a student as well." Ozpin set the empty cup down with a clank and stood up. "You'll only have to attend classes you wish to and your time will be split between begin a student and an 'employee'. On paper you'll be here for an education and job, but it will be enough to avoid the suspicion of the Vale. So, what do you say?"

Ozpin looked at her while she thought, wishing he could see her face to get an idea of what she might say.

"What sort of classes do you provide?" Her voice sounded suspicious, rightfully so.

"We have Combat classes, History classes, Grimm studies, environmental and survivalist classes. Any skills a hunter may need." The list of classes ranged widely depending on what year someone was in and how experienced they were.

She sounded hesitant to speak for both herself and Ben but she did come to a conclusion. "I... I look forward to the learning experience."

"Welcome to Beacon, Miss. West. If you wouldn't mind, I need to have a chat with Qrow." Aless turned and got in the elevator. "I will send someone to fetch you and move you to your room when it is ready, shouldn't be any longer than an hour. Though I do need to ask you to do one more thing." Aless stopped and turned. "I fear team CFVY is not properly adjusted to the sight of a battlefield, I would like you to look after them." She nodded and entered the elevator.

The room was silent as both men waited to see the elevator was at the bottom and not coming back up before they spoke.

"She certainly is something." Qrow spoke first. "Do you think we can really trust her? She's a total stranger."

"I think that may be the best reason to trust her. She seems to have no affiliation to any kingdom and is missing the basic knowledge of the average citizen." Ozpin sat back down in his chair.

"Ok, now what's the real reason? You can't fool me with that crap, why trust her?"

Ozpin smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"She is an outside force, and if she doesn't work for our enemy, that would make her indispensable."

"Huh, sure. I talked to her and found out what I could. Wanna hear?" Qrow took a seat across from Ozpin.

"Please do enlighten me." Ozpin listened intently as Qrow filled him in on everything the two had talked about.

 _Something indeed._

* * *

 **Author notes: And that's that. You may have picked up on some details that could lead to plot, I wasn't really trying to keep it super secret but hey good on you if you noticed.**

 **I do think people are going to think its weird that Roman would be so open to Jax, and to those people I have one word, Cinder. Roman is smart and the more people he can have loyal to him the better. Fear not however, he will not be 'of the stupid.'**

 **A big thanks to my editors for taking the time to fix this and make it look nice. I encourage you all to go look at their accounts, I don't think they have anything up just yet but they are going to soon.**

 **As always in encourage any criticism and appreciate your thoughts. Don't forget to review!**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: And we have another one for the pile.**

 **This chapter was a bit different in how I wrote it, in that the first bit was written after the second half. It was more a change I had to do for the time to make since, after reading through the last few chapters, it became apparent what I had planned didn't line up with the timeline and messed with the flow.**

 **I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always I welcome thoughts and criticism.**

 **Sincerely** **SE** **  
**

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Bullhead_

"Looks like we got a redirection, some gun fight on the wall." Jax felt the pilot turn the Bullhead, the forces of gravity and laws of inertia working against each other jerking the ship before redirecting its energy in the new desired direction. "Torch wants to talk to the big one." Jax made his way over to the cabin and was handed a headset, which he held and inch or two from his face.

"Good news kid, found some of your friends. Bad news, their currently being sought after by Vale's finest. Thought you'd want in on the rescue and figured they wouldn't shoot at you." There was a moment of silence. "No need to thank me, we'll talk repayment once you get back. Lucky hunting."

Jax handed the headset back and couldn't hold back the smile that overtook his face.

 _What are the odds of it being the rest of Delta?_

He set himself down in the back and checked to make sure his swords still had charge left in them before holsering them and pulling out his rifle and counting his ammo.

"We are about five minutes out from the last known point of contact. You'll have about an hour before we have to pull out, with or without you, understood?"

Neither Jax nor Neo answered but the pilot didn't reiterate. Five minutes felt like eternity waiting to make contact with people he hoped he knew. He had no problem with it just being the Token's crew, but he could use some of Benjamin's snark right about now. Jax let a gentle smile settle on his face as he pulled the rifle off his back.

When they did finally arrive at the location Jax was pleased to see the level of carnage,

 _A good point to it being Benjamin._

He moved up to the door of the Bullhead as it slowed to begin the landing sequence, he didn't wait. The fall was short and he was glad that his armour was still able to support the fall and not break his body. He took a moment to look out over the area. There were two very distinct positions, both riddled with holes. One with distinctly larger and deeper holes in the concrete than the other.

 _I'm guessing that's were the two groups were dug in at._

A sharp snap followed by several more gave Jax the general direction of the gunfight, and after being joined by Neo, he began in that direction.

They came across a door that had been blown off its hinges with the distinct sound of a firefight going on within its depths. Jax took a moment to look over to his backup who, with a smile on her face, shrugged her shoulders and entered the door, Jax followed directly after.

They followed the sounds of the gunshots and quickly found themselves in a large open room within the wall itself. Jax took a moment to scan over the area and spot the battle going on below. Sat on a high embankment firing down was a man in ODST armour and a marine; the group they shot at Jax couldn't identify, and in truth he didn't care. He shouldered his rifle and let out two shots dropping one of the men that had been making his way up the stairs towards the UNSC personnel.

Jax flipped his radio to the standard UNSC frequency and listened in on their radio chatter.

" _Unknown shooter one o'clock, he just dropped a hostile. What do you want me to do Davis?"_

" _Hold fire on them, wait, is that...?"_ The voice over the radio went silent before an overjoyous voice practically shouted not through the radio but through the open air. "Spartan!"

The group that the two had been engaged with had gone silent and Jax looked down to see if they were surrendering, to see Neo standing over three more men's bodies. The two men looked down at her and, thankfully, came to the right conclusion and didn't open fire. Jax leaped over the railing landing on the ground level and was quickly joined by the two men, the marine spoke first.

"Oh thank god, a Spartan. We weren't doing to good up there, I'm on my second to last mag. Where's the rest of your squad?" The marine stood there with a dopey grin on his face.

"Shut it, private. First Sergeant Dakota Davis, this is Private Kevin Lewis." Davis removed his helmet and extended his hand out to Jax.

"..." Jax took the hand but didn't say anything.

"Who's this?" He turned to extend his hand at her, she didn't take, instead settling for a small bow. "I'm gonna guess you're the mute one on Delta."

Jax pointed over the man's shoulder at a ventilation duct, Davis smiled and waved his hand.

"You can come down now!" Davis directed towards the duct before turning back to the Spartan.

"Nothin' gets past you, huh. That's our sniper, we were holding her off in case we needed her, had to be certain you were who I thought you were."

The vent was kicked the rest the way off, it had been mostly secured back when she climbed in but had been slightly bulging out, giving the position away. It was a small detail, one that most would miss, but Jax knew that problem very intimately. The figure that dropped out wore ODST armour and carried and older variant of the standard UNSC sniper rifle attached to her back with a DMR in her hands. She jogged up to them keeping her eyes on the two people before her.

"This is Staff Sergeant Rachel Wiren, and this is the last one here, we had two more back at our escape pod, but they didn't survive contact with the native wildlife." The group flinched as they heard someone yell down the staircase. "Well, looks like we aren't done just yet, you two willin' to help?"

Jax turned to Neo to see her grin take on an almost sinister look while he merely nodded.

"Ok, Wiren and Lewis get back up the stairs, the three of us will stay down here and provide a distraction for the main force. Don't open fire until they all come through that door."

The people all moved to their assigned positions before Davis noticed something concerning.

"Does she not have a gun?" he gestured towards Neo.

She shrugged and broke cover moving up to the open space just in front of the door, and just in the way of their lines of fire, Jax let out a sigh as he moved up with her. He attached his rifle to his back and drew out the hilts for his energy swords. He gave a slight nod to her and held his hand up to stop Davis from joining them. The group that came down the stairs were far better armoured than the men they had fought a few minutes ago, Jax concluded they were a quick response swat team, or at least this planet's equivalent.

The group of men came out of the door and fanned out in a semi-circle around them.

"Drop any weapons you have and put your hands in the air! You are trespassing in a level three restricted zone and are legally compelled to turn yourselves over!" Jax and Neo looked at each other and put their hands up. "Units three, four, five, and six, go secure them."

Two men went to Neo and Jax each. once the men got within melee distance, Jax and Neo, in unison, each drew their weapons and brought down one of the men, both selecting the other to use as cover while they closed in the distance to the rest. If the rest of the men hesitated or had any reluctance in shooting their own they didn't show it, gunning down their two men as soon as they had been compromised and used as cover, it wasn't enough however.

Jax and Neo had closed the distance and eliminated three of the remaining eight before they could begin to move back. Jax used the initial ignition of his blades to remove two of the swat teams members in the same time it took Neo to drive her umbrella blade through the squad leader, or at least the one who had done the talking. With his blades now on he pulled them out of the men and spun them around slashing another man's gun in half, before driving the blades through him. Jax took a moment to spare a glance towards Neo to see she was having much the same luck, having caught up with his own kill count through the use of acrobatics and using the men's guns against them. The last two men had chosen to attempt a withdrawal and began moving back to the door, giving them the opportunity to open fire on one of them, they chose Neo as their target. Jax lunged in front of her using his energy shields and thick armour plating to stop their weapons fire, he was aware that the planet had something called an Aura and that it served to protect people from physical harm, but he was unsure if Neo possessed such a thing or even if it was a real tangible object, he knew his shields would work however. His shields registered that they were at fifty percent when Wiren took a shot killing on one of the two, distracting the other, the distraction proved lethal. In half a second Neo went from standing before him to having her sword shoved through his gut, and half a second more for her to remove it and the man to realize what happened.

The silence after the battle was blessed, the basic relief of victory washing over the group before any other worldly problems came into the factor, then Davis spoke up.

"I really wish you would have warned us you were gonna… and now I remember you're the mute one." he let out a heavy sigh. "She could have given us a warning though." He watched in awe as both jax and the girl in question shook their heads no. "You're shitting me? How the hell did you manage to find another mute? Let alone one with battlefield experience?"

Jax contemplated that for a second, it truly was convenient. He responded with a shrug and gestured towards the door before nodding towards Neo, who pulled up some kind of mobile device and typed something in, before nodding to him and began to head for the door herself.

Jax followed but stopped at the door itself and waited for the soldiers.

When they reached the top and came out of the door it was to see the Bullhead they arrived on setting down in the courtyard outside the door. The group loaded up, and after the pilot checked to see that everyone was on board, it took off heading away from the city and the direction they wanted to go.

"We need to take the scenic route to avoid being tracked back to the hideout, dont wanna lead em back to Roman after all." The pilot gave off a light chuckle and mumbled something about that being a blessing and a curse, Neo didn't look too pleased at the statement but the glare fell from her face a second later settling in more of a pout.

Jax nugged her shoulder with his elbow and nodded to her when she turned back around.

 _I can see why Roman keeps her around._

"Someone wanna explain where it is we're heading?" Davis inspected the Battle rifle in his hands.

Davis looked up to see Jax staring out the bullhead door.

"You gonna have the pilot answer me or what?

They didn't get the chance, they were setting down at the warehouse by the time Jax had decided to get the pilot to explain they were already at the warehouse, Roman was waiting by the landing pad for them.

"Greetings, and welcome to my fortress of wayward soldiers, apparently. Roman Torchwick, and I believe you already knew Jax there, and you have had the privilege of meeting my girl Neo, now who might you all be?"

Davis looked to Jax, and after he nodded in favour of Roman, he spoke.

"First Sergeant Dakota Davis, that's Private Kevin Lewis, and that's Staff Sergeant Rachel Wiren, UNSC." Jax saw Romans eyes narrow a little at the use of the military titles.

"Well, mind telling me what it was you were doing with our good kingdom's wall guards?" Roman gestured for them to follow as he started walking towards the warehouse itself.

"We approached that big wall after crash landing, and I guess we were trespassing, and they opened fire as soon as we tried to make contact." Davis kept his hands firmly on his rifle.

"Yeah, sounds like the wall guard. Most of the guys on border duty are hyped up waiting for a kill. They're charged with keeping the wall and gates up and running and making sure no one sabotages them, don't want the Grimm getting in after all." he lead them to the lounge area they had been playing cards in earlier.

"Who the hell are the Grimm?" Lewis quickly shrunk back behind Rachel after getting a glare from Davis.

"Not a who more of a what. You really don't know?" Roman didn't sound surprised but his eyes did narrow a little more in suspicion.

"Not from around here, care to enlighten us?" Davis' voice sounded slightly annoyed but everyone correctly concluded that was at his subordinate.

"I'm sure you saw them if you were outside the wall, big black furred creatures with white bone plating on their outsides. There's a lot of different types and a lot of theories about what they are, only thing we know solid is that they control most the planet and have driven humanity back to the kingdoms or the occasional lucky settlement outside the walls." Roman sat down at one of the chairs and gestured everyone to take a seat as well.

"Yeha, we encountered those things. They killed two of our squad, our CO included." the UNSC personnel sat across a small table from Roman and Neo, while Jax pulled a chair up and sat on his own side.

"So let's talk about your recent crimes against the Kingdom of Vale. They aren't likely to be willing to talk after you killed some of their people, not that they left you much of a choice." Roman pulled out a cigar and continued. "I just so happen to be the largest boss of the underworld in Vale, you're lucky I found you before Vale called in the army, or gods forbid, a Hunter. I would like to offer my services in helping you stay under their radar, so to speak." He took a puff of his cigar before Davis spoke up.

"And what might you be getting out of this? We don't have any money." Davis took his helmet off and looked at Roman.

"I won't lie, money would be nice, but I'll settle for your services. You guys are good, a hell of a lot better than the idiots I can get my hands on. Your tin man is at least on the same level as a Huntsman… well one in training. In exchange of keeping you safe I ask for your loyalty.

"We're loyl' to the UNSC, no' s'me crime boss." Rachel's voice came through her helmets speaker slightly more robotic than the standard helmet, likely a malfunction, and carried with it an accent Jax couldn't quite identify.

"Rachel, you heard what Liz said, we aren't exactly in UNSC space anymore." That peaked Jax's interest, and Davis turned to him. "We need to inform you of something, though I don't know if we can do it with him here." He gestured to Roman.

"I already told you how I'm a crime boss, like the lady said, and an outlaw. Hell, I'm Vale's most wanted. I trusted you, against my better judgement, put some trust in me here." Roman pulled the cigar out of his mouth and put it out in the ashtray.

The room fell silent while Davis thought about his next move

"Fine, you'll think I'm crazy anyways." He pulled out a small chip from his helmet and the display figure of a woman in twentieth century combat gear appeared. "Tell them what you told us Liz."

Roman and Neo looked slightly surprised at the sudden use of A.I. but didn't say anything.

"Are you sure sir? That might not be the wisest course of action." She turned to address him.

"Trust goes a long way Liz, tell them what you told us."

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
_ _Roman's Hideout_

"First thing's first, my name is Liz. I am a fragment A.I. from our ship's main board A.I. whose name was Elizabeth. When the ship started going down and we began to evacuate, this group came and pulled my chip, unfortunately part of me was already corrupted from the effects of the artifact, and had to severed so that I could have any control at all. Long story short, I'm not as good as I used to be." She directed most of that in Jax's direction knowing that Roman and Neo wouldn't really be able to make heads or tales of that information, she was right, and after Jax nodded to show he understood she continued. "Our last mission had us secure an artifact, which happened to belong to a long dead civilization, capable of unimaginable damage. Shortly after we got it on our ship it began to activate, and within ten minutes our ship and crew had been ripped from our dimension to yours, we are technically aliens." she stopped to let that sink in.

"You're… aliens from another dimension… you're crazy. What the hell are you-" he was interrupted by the fake lady.

"We are still Human, just a different kind. In fact, when we came over I believe this dimension rewrote our DNA structure to fit with this dimension's idea of Human. I can't confirm this without further tests however, all I had were a few seconds worth of scan data before the ship went silent. Our humanity is from a Planet called Earth, we became a space faring race and spread out across the stars, and now we're stuck here because of some kind of Forerunner technology." Roman pulled out a cigar but stopped before putting it in his mouth.

"I trusted crazy people." he wiped a hand down his face.

"That's also partly the reason our gear changed." Dakota directed his attention towards Jax.

"He is correct, we only have theory to go on however. I believe that this universe knew certain parameters had to be met but it didn't understand how, so it did the best it could. Your gear should still be fairly powerful, but it won't really stack up to what you used to use. Sorry Spartan." Jax nodded in conformation and turned to Roman.

 _And he just roles with it._

He put the cigar in his mouth and set both his hands on his face.

 _Well I don't think they're lying, only and idiot would expect me to believe a lie like that. They could still be useful, crazy or not._

He turned to Neo and looked her in the eyes. She gave him a subtle nod and he directed his attention back to the soldiers in front of him.

"I think you're crazy, but you're still useful. I'll get a few rooms set aside for you guys. I expect you to pull your weight." Roman got up, followed by Neo. "I'm gonna go get some sleep, this has been a long day." Roman left the room before they could make him question the meaning of life.

 _At the very least she won't ever find out their past, unless she checks the insane asylums… I should probably do that too.  
_

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon hallways_

Aless didn't have to wait long for the Headmaster to send someone, she hadn't expected Professor Goodwitch or that the person would guide her directly to the room, but she wouldn't say no to the mature company.

"This will be your room. There are a few uniforms over there in the dresser you will be expected to wear, and your schedule is on the desk along with any of the books you will need." Aless took a second to look over the room.

 _It seems a little big for one person, although Ben should be joining me soon and I suppose they are meant for four people to stay in._

"Thank you Professor, will that be all?" Aless turned and fell into a military stance waited for her to say anything.

"Yes, goodnight." The professor turned to leave the room but stopped at the door and turned. "Actually, I wanted to offer my sympathy for your friends. If we would have left sooner we may have been able to do something, and for that I'm sorry." The women's tone didn't change and her face kept a sternness that gave off an authoritative feeling, but there was something about her, something Aless couldn't pin down, that made her seem like she cared.

"It's not your fault, if anyone is to blame it's me. I could have gotten there sooner had I not let my wounds slow me down, or if I didn't even leave the hangar I would have been on the Pelican with them, and Ben wouldn't have been hurt." Aless whispered the last part to herself but was certain the Professor had heard her.

"You should get some rest, goodnight Miss West." The Professor turned and left.

Aless waited a moment and followed suit, planning on getting her gear out of the Bullhead before someone stole it. The door down the hall opened and a brunette in glasses peeked out.

"Robo Girl? So you decided to become a student after all, didn't peg you for the Huntress type." Miss Adel leaned up against the wall as another figure walked out.

"Hello Aless." The rabbit Faunus looked torn for a second before continuing to speak. "Where you heading?"

"I need to get my gear to my room." She planned on rearranging the room and setting aside two of the four beds to make extra space.

"Want a hand?" Miss Adel offered first.

"Thank you Miss Adel, but I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

"It's not a problem, and call me Coco." The girl pushed herself off the wall and stepped forward slightly before turning back to Miss Scarlatina. "You coming Vel?"

Aless thought about denying the duo's help but decided against it. She could use the assistance in carrying the crates. Besides, the Headmaster had wanted her to look after the team, so now was as good a chance as any. Aless started down the hallways and was quickly joined by the two girls.

Aless lead the way to the Bullheads, gathering up one of the crates and a duffle bag while the other two grabbed what was left.

"What exactly is all this stuff?" Coco had opted to carry the other crate leaving Velvet with the remaining two duffle bags.

"Its my ammo, guns, repair gear for my armour and some tech components. Most of it I can't get replacements for."

Aless turned to walk back before she looked out over the cliff side at the shattered moon in the distance.

 _How ever it happened, and regardless of it being impossible, it sure is beautiful._

"One of the best parts about Beacon, the view." Miss Scarlatina had stopped with her while Coco continued on. "Do you have a nice view back home?"

"I wouldn't call The Infinity home, sure it's where I live, but it's not a home. I don't really have a home... the military has always been my life, I guess in a way that sorta makes it my home... but it really isn't the same." Aless took a moment to think back to her time on the Infinity. "I suppose it does have a nice view of the stars, just wish I would have appreciated it." Aless was careful to not lie but still avoid the truth.

 _The best lies have truth in them. Of course the Infinity has a nice view of the stars, its a spaceship._

"What about you Miss Scarlatina, got a nice view back home?" Aless kept her eyes locked on the ocean watching it glissen in the mood light.

"Sort of, if you like snow. Atlas is nice but it certainly isn't as nice as Vale." Velvet turned and began walking away as Aless pulled herself away from the scene and followed.

"Atlas is the Kingdom to the North right?" She had time to read up a little bit of history and look at a map or two, but nothing solid yet.

"Yeah, what kingdom are you from?" Velvet slowed down to be walking beside Aless.

"I'm not from any of the kingdoms, I hadn't ever even heard about them before we crashed." Velvet stopped and Aless turned to look at her confused face.

"You're from the Grimmlands?" Her face was twisted in a vague mix of confusion and concern,

The reason Aless' knowledge of the kingdoms was so limited was due to her prioritizing something else, the Grimmlands. Over Ninety-Five percent of the planet over run by those monsters, and the best place for her alibi on a planet that didn't know, at least officially, about space travel for the simple fact no one could prove her wrong.

"Yep, we got a small settlement, about ten thousand people." Velvets face took on a dull look before her eyes widened.

"Ten thousand people, out in the Grimmlands! Grimm must be a huge problem." Velvet quieted down towards the end realizing they were walking through the living quarters at a time when most were going to bed.

"Actually I never encountered a Grimm until I came here." Velvet continued down the hallway meeting up with Coco at Aless' room.

"Sounds like paradise to me." Velvet winced at the realization that she was loud enough for Coco to hear from the other end of the hall.

"It's not all perfect, we spent the last thirty years at war." Both of the girls faces froze and Aless immediately regretted mentioning it.

"You uh, have to open the door with your scroll." Coco stepped aside letting Aless open the door.

She found the scrolls to be a very strange technology, they were one of the most advanced pieces of tech she had seen on the planet, and yet it seemed to be inconsistent. She had very little use for it other than a key to her door and an alarm clock. She gestured the two in and set the crate down.

"Want some help unpacking?" Coco set the crate she was carrying up against the wall and turned to Aless.

"It would speed this up a little. Open that crate and check what's in it." Aless opened hers to see the radio and other electronic components she had been able to scavenge from the Pelican. She carried it over to one of the desks and set the crate aside with most of its contents except for the radio itself, she set that on the desk.

"Looks like a bunch of metal plates and some sorta wrenches, nothing I've ever seen." Coco picked one up and showed it to Aless.

"That's the gear to repair my armour, just go ahead and slide that next to the bed." Aless picked up one of the duffle bags and pulled out Ben's Hydra.

 _You woulda killed me had I left these behind._

She set them on top of one of the beds and turned to Velvet.

"That one should be my weapons, just go ahead and slide it under the bed there, I'll run it to the combat lockers tomorrow."

 _Some of them anyways, never hurts to have a firearm under your bed._

"Thanks for the help, I need to get some sleep."

"See you tomorrow Robo Girl." Coco waved and pulled Velvet with her out the door.

"Goodnight Aless." Velvet waved underneath Coco's arm.

Once the two left a shallow stillness fell over the room. Aless bagan the annoying process of removing her armour and getting ready for bed. Thankfully the new style of the armour was much easier to remove alone.

"Back to training." She let off a heavy sigh and fell down on her bed. "Looks like I get the high school experience, to bad it's two decades late." Aless got under the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep.

She found herself thinking of the pier and sunset she had seen, and her interactions with Velvet about the view from Beacon.

 _Guess it's not all bad.  
_

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Gym_

Aless had gotten a few hours sleep and chose to get in some training. With the changes to her armour she decided to run few tests on her physical body. To her astonishment she still had most of her physical strength when she was in her armour, which didn't make sense due to it's lack of the exo-suit. She didn't mean to complain, but it just didn't make sense. Her physical body was not so lucky.

She hadn't expected the same luck for her normal body, and wasn't disappointed. She concluded she was definitely stronger than someone her size but nowhere near what she used to be capable of.

"I blame the Forerunners." she sighed and set the bar back on the bench.

Her attention was drawn towards the door as the largest member of team CFVY came through.

"Alessandra." Yatsuhashi gave her a friendly nod and gentle smile. "Getting in some early morning training."

She nodded back to him and turned back to the bench.

"Do you require someone to spot you?" Usually Aless would have declined, she knew her limits, but the problem was she didn't know her limits, not anymore.

"If it's not inconvenient." He walked over and set himself up behind the bench as Aless began the workout.

"So what brings you here at such an hour?" Aless racked the bar and told him to add some more weight before answering his question.

"Got all the sleep I needed, so why not?" she laid back down and began again. "What about you."

"It is part of my routine, I prefer to start my day early." Aless began to struggle with the weight and racked it before standing up.

"I need to go, got some errands to run." Aless thought back to Ozpin's request. "I wouldn't mind the company, if you wanna come?" _Best way to check up on them would be to get to know them, now's as good a time as any right?_

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to skip one morning, besides I will make up for it tomorrow, what did you have in mind?"

"I just need to run my weapons to their locker and get ready for classes." She left out her plan to check up on Ben. "I haven't had the time to learn the layout yet, mind leading the way?" To her delight he lead her down the corridor.

 _I really do need to memorize that map._

"How is your friend?" He didn't look over his shoulder or stop but it was still clear he was paying close attention.

"Still alive, lucky bastard. He lost a lot of blood and took some pretty hard hits on the landing, it was really only his training that kept him moving after the crash. He shouldn't have been moving, but when you're under attack there's not a lot of choices."

Yatsuhashi turned down a corridor and gestured to a door along the wall. "After you." he held the door open and let her through.

Aless walked to one of the lockers near the end with her number on it and set her gear inside.

"A woman of simple tastes?" Aless was caught off guard by his question before she realized he was looking at her weapons.

"What can I say, I don't really need anything fancy. If it can shoot, that's good enough for me."

"I understand, I use a sword myself. I am not a fan of the mechashift weapons personally."

The two made their way out of the locker room and began heading for the cafeteria.

"If you'll excuse me, I just remembered something I have to go take care of. I'll meet you at the cafeteria." With a nod the two went their separate ways and Aless began heading in the direction of the medical wing.

When Aless got to Ben's room one of the nurses was making their way out.

"Any changes?" Aless hated that she let her hopes get up, she knew they would have sent her a message or contact her if anything changed, but she couldn't help but hope.

"His condition is a little better, but he is still being kept under. You can go in if you want."

"No… no I just wanted to check up, thank you." Aless turned and left, heading back to the cafeteria.

When she arrived she found it far fuller than she had expected. The line to the actual food was short however, and after a few minutes of waiting she had her tray and sat at one of the few empty tables off to the side of the room. She was soon joined by a familiar team however.

"Hey there Robo Girl, mind if we join you?" When Aless didn't disagree Coco and her team sat down. "So you looking forward to your first day of class?"

"Eh, can't be all that hard." Aless took a bite out of some kind of meat and was pleasantly surprised to see it was actual chicken and not some kind of knock-off.

"You won't be saying that once you get into Port's classroom, that guy has an uncanny talent to put half the class to sleep. Its gotta be a semblance or something."

Aless tuned out the rest of the conversation at the table and focused on her food, and more importantly, the current problem with TheToken.

 _I need to get to that signal quickly, in case there are survivors… Do I wait for Ben?_

Her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden question from the group surrounding her.

"Hmm, what?" She turned to Coco, who she assumed had been the one asking.

"Do you wanna go out this weekend?"

"And do what?" she didn't have anything that needed to be done so didnt see the point.

"Well, there's this nice restaurant in Vale." Velvet had finally decided to speak.

"And an awesome clothing store downtown." to no one's surprise it was Coco that suggested shopping.

"I always wanted to try bowling, they got one in town." Aless' attention was drawn to Fox, the fourth member of team CFVY.

"I can't afford to do any of that, sorry." The sudden realization of what they meant and her lack of money killed any chance of her going on such a trip.

"No problem I'm buying." Coco lowered her sunglasses from her eyes.

"I dont know, I'm not really that fun to hang out with. That's always been Ben's category." She decided against telling any of the many stories she had of him when he was drunk.

"Nonsense, it's a date." She was interrupted by the bell. "Here's my Scroll number, shoot me a message and I'll give you the time." The team stood up and began to leave before they stopped and Coco spoke up again. "You comin Robo Girl?"

Aless disposed of her tray and remaining food and followed the group to the first class of the day.

 _This is gonna be a long day.  
_

* * *

 **Authors Note: Another one done and another one done, another one bites the dust.**

 **Originally this chapter was gonna rush to the weekend and move on, but I decided against it. I want to keep the slower more interaction driven story, this unfortunately translates to the action being more spread out, hope you guys dont mind.**

 **I wanna thank my editors for all their help and the time they take out of their day to help me. Thank you.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to writing more. I encourage criticism and would appreciate it, it helps me to arrange the story better and craft a better and smoother journey.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Another day, another Halo RWBY crossover fanfiction chapter… that sounded more normal in my head.**

 **This chapter actually took me longer to write than most the others, including the monster pilot chapter. I suppose it didn't take more writing time, but it took more thought process and did not flow as easy. That was just because I kinda wrote myself into a corner and bogged myself down with trying to get the chapter to catch people's eyes, while not wanting to push the next plot point farther than I had to.**

 **I hope you enjoy the story and I encourage a critical view when reading it, criticism helps me to refine the story and make it better. So please let me know if you think I can improve it any.**

* * *

Editor's Note: Sardonic and I decided on a whim a while back that Rachel would be Scottish. No real reason for that, just thought it would be fun to write (Even though he pushed the "Scot-ification" off on me). I hope I did okay at making the Scottish person seem unintelligibly Scottish enough. :p

General Mayhem

* * *

 **I would like to thank my editors for their help and continued assistance in crafting a better story. Thank you.**

 **Sincerely SE** **  
**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Hallways_

True to what Aless had expected the day had been easy, too easy. She found herself bored and uninterested with most of the subject material, though she did listen to professor Oobleck's history lesson intently.

 _This day just keeps stretching on, but it's almost over. Just one more class and its a fighting class, so this should be interesting at least._

Throughout the day she found herself daydreaming about various things, from this planet's weird technology to Ben and the UNSC. Try as she might she couldn't keep herself occupied. It was mainly due to this she was willing to overlook team CFVY's constant presence. Her classes and daily routine lined up with theirs perfectly, giving her someone to sit by at the very least. She was all for avoiding contact with the student body, preferring to stay near those she had already talked to.

As the last class of the day approached however, she couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. She was about to have a close up look at the way the people of this planet fought, and she could definitely say her interest was piqued. The planet and its inhabitants, while using primitive weapons, fought in a very aggressive and adaptable style, if slightly inefficient.

"Can't wait to see the fights, wonder who Yatsu gets destroy today?" Aless listened as Coco continued to ramble.

"There is no guarantee that I will be fighting today, you know that right?" Yatsuhashi drew Coco's attention from the rest of the group. The conversation was fairly one sided and ended with her talking to herself and the man in question waiting patiently.

Aless' attention was drawn to her other side with a slight nudge from Velvet.

"How have you enjoyed your day?" Velvet kept her voice low.

"It's been pretty slow actually, I thought Huntsman Academies were supposed to teach you how to hunt Grimm, not bore you to sleep with stories of your youth." she realized what she said could have been taken as a joke, had she not spoke in a deadpan voice. "I mean, if I'm gonna be here, I want to learn the important stuff. I never thought I'd say it but I prefer Spartan training."

Coco stopped mumbling to herself and rejoined the real world.

"What was it like? We had combat schools to prep us, but I highly doubt it was the same as a military training school." Coco pulled out her scroll to check the time before looking back at Aless. The entire ensemble of teenagers had focused their attention on her.

"Well, it wasn't like anything you would have seen. Our training was from a very young age, and continued up until the day I left." Again she chose the truth while leaving out certain bits of information. "Most of my unit didn't make it past the augmentation process." Aless attempted to suppress the image of the kids she grew up with lying dead on an operating table. "And more didn't make it through our early missions."

"Flunked out huh? Tough break." Aless again tried to block the memories. "Ben's group do any better?"

"By the time he came along they concluded that Spartan III training was too dangerous to put more people through, he's a Spartan IV. They were recruited from the active military, he has more military experience than me but I have more Spartan experience then him." She shrugged her shoulders. "He was the socialite member of our team, you'll see why when he wakes up."

"I look forward to it." Velvet walked through the door into the large classroom first.

"Lets get some front row seats, I wanna get a good view of Yatsu kickin' ass!" Coco jogged forward dragging her team with her.

Aless continued at her pace, appreciating the moment of silence. When she reached the front row she took a seat next to Velvet and turned her attention to the professor standing on the main stage.

As the students funneled in from the hallways, Aless spotted the other half of team CFVY coming in from the locker rooms conjoined to the classroom.

"Please find your seats." Professor Goodwitch stood looking over the class with her riding crop held behind her. Once all the students had silenced themselves she spoke up. "In this class you will learn the skills that will help you to survive against not only the Grimm, but other humans who may wish to do you harm." She glared at a group of guys that had been talking. "I recommend you pay close attention." She smacked the table in front of the chatty group with her crop, creating a loud smacking sound. "Spars will last until one opponent's aura falls into the red or they yield the fight. The first spar will be between-"

Aless tuned out the names she didn't recognize and focused on the fight that went on before her. She was still trying to wrap her head around the crazy use of acrobatics, weapons, auras and semblances. She found it strange how the UNSC had never heard of anything like this, they showed clear signs of being useful in combat and would have been invaluable during the war.

 _I need to talk to Ozpin about this planet's history, find out when they split off from the UNSC. Judging from the level of cultural development and local infrastructure it has to be an old colony. Wonder if it's from the early days of the Insurrection._

Her attention was brought back to reality as she heard Yatsuhashi be called down for his fight. She didn't miss the smirk Coco sent his way before mouthing the words ' _I told you'_. His opponent was a female wielding some sort of Halberd with an unusually short shaft.

The two left the room and went to the changing rooms, emerging a few minutes later in their combat gear.

The fight lasted only about two minutes before Yatsuhashi had forced his opponents aura into the red. Team CFVY cheered and the rest of the class clapped. He offered a hand to the girl to help her up mumbling something to her as she let off a soft laugh. Aless only paid partial attention to the advice Professor Goodwitch gave to the two combatants before allowing them to go back to their seats. His team complimented him on his fighting as he sat back down in his seat.

Aless went over the fight in her head, carefully analysing the moves and fighting styles of the two. She focused more so on the weak points in their guards and the more likely weak spots in their stances and forms.

"Do we have any volunteers for the next round, or shall I call on two more students?" The Professor looked out over the crowd, and more importantly, the lack of raised hands.

Aless thought for a moment before raising her own hand.

 _No better way to understand their fighting styles than in the field, right?_

"Are you sure that is wise Miss West?" The Professor met her eyes. "Given your condition, a fight might not be a good idea." Aless was aware that the Professor was worried for her safety, given her lack of Aura, but that did nothing to subdue her dismay at being called weak, regardless of how reasonable or nice you made it sound.

"That won't be a problem ma'am." Aless rose from her seat and started for the locker room.

"Very well, your opponent will be Fox Alistair." The man in question followed Aless through the doors to locker rooms in silence, splitting up to go into the separate rooms to change.

Aless was glad she had decided to store her armour in the locker and suited up. She was disappointed in her lack of any real weapon, by this world's standard. She had been surprised by how useful and versatile their weapons could be, even though they were still primitive by UNSC standards in all but their ability to transform. Her choice in weapon was a M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. It wasn't her custom one, but it was a weapon she was familiar with all the same.

By the time she got back to the classroom her opponent had already returned. She listened attentively to the rules of the spar.

"The fight will go until I intervene, one opponent is knocked out of the arena, or Mr. Alistair's Aura reaches the red, is this understood?" The Professor turned towards Aless. "I hope you know what you're doing Miss. West."

Fox raised his hand, and after a nod from Miss Goodwitch, he spoke. "What do you mean by when my Aura reaches the red? What about her Aura?" Fox glanced up to the Aura meter, eyes going wide. "Wait, she doesn't have Aura?" he looked to the Professor before turning to Aless. "Are you sure about this?" Aless nodded back to him, pulling her DMR off her back and pushing the stock into her shoulder.

"Yes." Aless and Fox locked eyes until he nodded and fell into his fighting stance. More appropriately Aless locked eyes with him; he locked eyes with her helmet.

Aless didn't fail to notice how silent the room had become.

 _Do they honestly think Aura makes that much of a difference? I've been without it for my whole life, and it's never been a problem._

"Are you both ready?" The two students nodded, neither removing their eyes from their opponent. Her hand came down and Aless pulled her rifle up in an instant.

Aless squeezed the trigger slowly at first, feeling the tension build as the trigger resisted her, until it gave in and did what it was designed for. The kick of the rifle against her arm was more than Aless was used to, causing her follow up shots to veer above center mass, though they still hit his form. She had been able to get three shots off before he closed the distance.

His initial strike had been weak, concluding she wouldn't have been able to handle a full power hit without Aura, that was his first mistake. His second had been locking one of his elbow blades onto her weapon, which she quickly dropped in favor of a swift punch to the side of his face followed up by a roll to the side to avoid his counter. She pulled out her sidearm, only to have it kicked out of her hands by a turnabout kick.

Within the first ten seconds of combat she was already down both her weapons, though the DMR had been tossed a short distance away. Still technically in reach she realized, rolling out of the way of a kick, towards her gun. She picked it up and managed to get the but of the rifle against her gut before turning up and blindly hip firing a shot directly into her opponent's stomach. That would have left an unarmoured opponent on the floor, but she soon remembered that he was, in fact, protected by his Aura.

He pulled his arm up to stop her follow up shot before closing the distance. She flipped the DMR over holding the barrel and using it as a club to strike him in the head sending him past her and smashing down to the floor.

Aless looked down at her weapon in disappointment, she hadn't expected it to last long, but the barrel had snapped from the hit making it rather useless. It was at this moment she came to two rather daunting realizations; one, she now had no weapon, the pistol still lay on the other side of her opponent, and two, Fox had been holding back.

She had expected him to take some time to climb back up and move across the floor, and she had been partly correct. He had taken time to stand back up, but he had moved across the floor in a flash standing directly in front of her before she even registered that he had moved. Her instincts kicked in helping her to dodge his strike to the floor, but left her open for his follow up kick. She fell back across the floor, but managed to twist and land on her stomach, making it all the easier to get back on her feet. Her opponent did not follow.

"Are you sure you wish to keep this up?" His voice was soft and his posture relaxed. "There isn't any shame in losing, you fought well for someone with no Aura." Aless knew he was offering her an out, and more importantly, showing her that she didn't need to feel ashamed at losing, it had the opposite effect of what he intended

Aless fell into a stance pulling her arms up in defense of her torso.

"I don't give up, and stop pulling your punches! Fight me with everything you've got, damn it!" Aless knew he had meant to be kind, but that did little to calm her.

Fox looked towards the Professor, who nodded, and he fell back into his stance. Aless saw his body lean forward and moved before he had actually taken a step. She was well aware that she couldn't compete with his speed, but she was sure she still held the strength advantage.

His eyes widened slightly as his attack hit air and Aless' fist hit him in the chest. She followed with another punch to the head and a kick to his legs to force him off balance. Rather than press her advantage however, she disengaged and moved back, checking the Aura meter to see he had fallen into the yellow.

Fox never hit the ground, he had placed a hand under himself and flipped backwards into a crouched stance, before following after Aless. Had he been able to see the smirk grow over her face he likely would have held back, but her helmet blocked such tells.

When he reached her she moved to punch towards his face, but was caught by his hand, and twisted with him as he turned, pinning her arm under his. His body moved to twist farther and toss her, before she grabbed his arm with her free hand and kicked his legs. This time his stance was prepared and it didn't have the same level of success, but her follow up with her other leg served to accomplish that goal. She saw his eyes grow wide once again as she threw him out over the edge of the ring.

She couldn't blame him for being surprised, the only way someone could pull off a twist like that at the angle she had with their arm caught was to break it, and that she did. Aless hadn't been sure if her shoulder would dislocate with the same ease it used to, the extent of the physical changes was still up for question, but it had.

Aless snapped her shoulder back into its socket, ignoring the pain, and holding out her hand for him to take. He looked reluctant, but took it and was pulled to his feet.

"Miss West is the victor by ring out." The Professor walked down onto the arena. "Mr. Fox, I suggest you pay attention to your surroundings. Miss. West, find a better weapon, one that works with your fighting style." The bell cut into the room. "That is all we have time for today. Be ready for a spar if you haven't fought one yet and I recommend training for those of you who have." She turned and walked back to her desk.

Aless moved back to her seat and retrieved the assignments she had from Oobleck's class, and turned towards the door.

"Where you runnin' off to Robo Girl?"

"Back to my room. Where's Fox and the big guy?" They began to make their way through the crowded hallways to their dorm rooms.

"They wanted to change out of their combat gear and take a shower or something… and his name's Yatsuhashi. Are you staying in that mech suit?" Aless was followed by Coco and Velvet down the hall towards the dorm rooms.

"I only have this and my Beacon uniform, so yes." Aless saw the way the girl stopped and Velvet stiffened at her side.

"You don't have any actual clothes? That is unacceptable! Follow me." Coco grabbed Aless' arm and went to pull her, only to realize she was unable to move the Aless.

"What are you doing?" Aless was surprised by the amount of force behind the pull, though it was not enough to move her without her wanting to be moved.

"We're going shopping! That was the last class of the day, so we're going to get you some clothes. Now move damn it!" Coco gave her arm another tug and Aless began to follow her.

"Aren't you dragging me into the city this weekend? What's the point of going shopping now? We can just do it when we go to town." Aless looked to Velvet who shrugged her shoulders.

"You can't go out for a night in Vale dressed in battle armour! So we are gonna find you some clothes to wear." She let go of Aless' arm when she realised that she wasn't gonna make her go any faster than she was already going.

"So we're going shopping… so I have something to wear when we go shopping? That's not redundant or anything." Aless could feel the glare from Coco, even though she couldn't see it with her sunglasses on. "Besides, I can't buy anything so it's kinda pointless." She decided to give one last attempt to avoid the impending trip.

"Fear not, I couldn't allow you to be seen in anything but the best. I will cover the cost, it is my sacred duty!" She held a pose for a few seconds in awkward silence.

"Ok, I'll go, just give me a few minutes. I need to run a few errands, I'll meet you at the Bullheads in half an hour." Aless turned and left in the direction of the medical wing.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Medical Wing_

Aless looked over Ben from the window and focused on the calm look on his face. He never slept well when off mission. He tried to keep it hidden from the team but everyone knew, though no one said anything. Everyone knew about the nightmares. More than once she had made the mistake of waking him up too abruptly and have him lash out before realizing where he was, she never found out what they were about. She thought back to her time on the Infinity and the two years of service with Ben. At the time she had kept her opinion of such things to herself, deciding it wasn't her business. Now, she wasn't so sure.

She couldn't pin the feeling, something she wasn't used to. She regretted not talking to him about it, even though she didn't have the slightest idea of what to say.

 _If he wanted help he would have gotten it. What could I have done?_

Something about how peaceful his face looked, about how still he was without the aid of alcohol. It was the first time she could remember him being truly relaxed off the battlefield. On the battlefield was another matter entirely, he was never stiff or nervous and kept an air of confidence and humour with him at all times. She could admit to it being annoying on more than one occasion, but now she was missing it.

"I know it's not your fault, getting injured, but damn it Ben." She turned away from his body on the bed and looked out the window to the view of the forest in the distance. "I need some backup here, I dont know what I'm doing." She waited patiently. The silence was suffocating. "The doctor says that your wounds are healing for the most part, but they want to run some medical tests." More silence. "They also said that your head took a hard hit on the way down. They don't know when, or even if, you'll wake up." Aless stopped again, She needed to think of something else. "The four teens that helped us at the crash have been keeping close, I'm fairly certain that the Headmaster wants them to watch me. I cant hold it against him, I wouldn't trust us either. They even want me to accompany them down to the city. Me, going on a trip with people for no purpose other than entertainment." She closed her eyes, hoping for some sarcastic jab or joke at her expense, but was met with more silence. "You asked me if I believe in destiny, I don't know if I do or not, but I don't believe you're destined to die here. Don't die on me Ben, please."

Aless turned to look at the door, feeling the eyes of someone on her neck.

"I apologize for interrupting you, Miss West. I came to check up on your partner. I wasn't aware he already had a visitor, I will wait out-" The Headmaster wasn't even able to turn before Aless was already at the door and leaving herself.

"I was done anyways." She walked to the door before stopping and turning to look at Ozpin. "Do you sir?"

"Hmm, do I what?" He held a cup of coffee up to his lips.

"Believe in destiny?"

He stopped for a moment and looked directly into her eyes. To her shame, she looked away first.

"Have a good day Miss West." He turned and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Aless left the room and walked to the place she was supposed to meet Coco and Velvet. The halls had mostly been vacated now with the school day over, most students either decided to relax or go down to Vale. She appreciated the silence. As she left the confines of Beacon her hands fell to the hems of her skirt in a futile attempt to stretch it down her legs. She concluded that wearing her armour would be a bad idea but that only left one other option, her school uniform. She couldn't recall a time ever in her life that she had actually worn a skirt, or any type of civilian clothing for that manner. She couldn't say she approved of the way that the breeze made her legs shiver slightly. It wasn't that it was cold, in fact it was rather moderate, it was merely an uncommon feeling for the Spartan.

She saw the excitement in Cocos eyes as she rounded the corner, and the quick shift to disappointment at what she could only guess was her choice of attire.

"Well… It's better than the suit at least. Come on Robo Girl we got some shoppin' to do." Coco gestured to nearby Bullhead and followed after her.

"Does that name still work if I'm not in my armour?" Aless took a seat across from the two partners and leaned back.

"Judging from how you act in social situations, yes." Velvet scowled at her partner. "What? You saw how she handled that guy flirting with her in Port's class!" the two looked at Aless.

"That guy was flirting?" Aless looked at the two in confusion.

"My point stands." Coco looked back to Velvet ignoring Aless' very fair question.

"That doesn't change the fact that it was rude. You should-"

"She's not wrong, I didn't even notice." Aless mostly whispered the last part to herself, not in awe or shock, but curiosity.

She hadn't even noticed, so that should speak to his effort. Aless forced the conversation onto easier things paying little attention to the conversation unless she was directly addressed, something about the students of their year and the chances of their team doing well in some tournament coming up in a few years, none of it that Aless understood.

"How do you prefer to kill stuff, Robo Girl?" she refocused her mind on the conversation at hand.

"I mostly just stick to guns, I have hand to hand training but I prefer to keep people at a distance." Her hand fell to her leg in search of the pistol she strapped there. "Ben is the talented one when it comes to technique. His unarmed skill gave him a good advantage in our spars, I only ever won because of brute strength and speed."

"You should see about having a weapon built for you and him." Velvet was quick to continue. "N-not that your rifles are bad, they just lack versatility." she followed her stammer with a nervous chuckle, sagging lower in her seat.

"I'll have Ben work on it when he gets up, he knows his way around a workshop better than me. Though I'm not sure how he'll handle the form changing weapons. We don't really have anything like that where we come from." she gave a soft shrug with her shoulders. "If anyone I know will be able to make sense of this stuff, it's Ben."

"Looks like we're here." The Bullhead lowered itself slowly onto the platform with a subtle lurch at the end.

"Ok, let's get this over with." Aless stood up with a sigh.

"Can you not make it sound like we're taking you to execution, it's just shopping." Coco jumped out of the Bullhead and started down the street.

"I don't shop." Aless followed closely behind, sparing a glance to make sure Velvet did the same.

"Be honest, have you ever gone shopping?" The question caught Aless off guard.

"Well… no. but the idea is boring." Aless pretended she couldn't see the pointed glare Coco sent her way, or the understanding look in Velvet's eyes.

"Well prepare for a night you'll never forget."

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Roman's Hideout_

The time since the ODSTs had shown up had been short, but eventful nonetheless. The information regarding their predicament was appreciated, if troubling. Jax had spent most of the night doing maintenance with the help of the A.I. they had brought with them.

"OK, I'll run this one through a simulation and see what the results are. It will take a few hours for it to finish, I really do miss having the resources of the Token." Liz's assistance was appreciated.

While the rest of the people at the warehouse had been sleeping, save the guards, Jax had been at work. While it started with maintenance it quickly grew into a plan to upgrade their own weapons with this planet's technology, and more importantly, it's Dust. While it was weaker than standard UNSC bullets, it offered some useful applications, such as fire and gravity Dust. He was in the process of filling another set of bullets with the Dust when he was joined by Rachel, and a disgruntled Roman in pursuit.

"I don't like it anymore than you girly, but I need this dealt with. It would have been handled yesterday if you lot hadn't been in need of a rescue." Roman leaned against the wall next to the door so if she left he could follow closely behind.

"Wa shood we hae' ta help ya intimidate someain? Yer a criminal, an' a small-time one at that. Now lit me gat ta' wark an' sta' botherin' me!" Rachel turned to the workbench next to Jax and set her sniper down.

"I don't need you, I just need your tin man. Neo and I could have this wrapped up in a matter of minutes, but I would prefer to have the metal wall with me, just in case. All I need is for you to pull overwatch, not for me, for your friend." Roman pushed off the wall and leaned on his cane.

"Th' spartan an' Ah aren't friends." She sent Jax a glare before doing the same to Roman. "An' we arenae go-"

"She's all yours." Three words spoken by her superior that in an instant deflated her argument.

"Sairr, Ah do't thi-." she spun on the spot to look at the man directly.

"Noted. We are however, in his debt. We don't know the planet and we have made ourselves enemies of the state, we don't have much of a choice." Davis turned to Jax. "If you're willing to go, then we'll go for back up if you need us." He waited for Jax to nod and turned to face Roman. "There you have it. Don't kill any civilians, or we will have a problem." Davis moved over to Rachel and looked down at her waiting for Roman to leave.

"I may be a crook, but I'm not an idiot. Killing civilians gets attention I don't want. The people we need to… persuade, are anything but. Half the reason they're a problem is because they ignore that rule, they have brought a lot of attention from the VPD. Can't have that." He turned and walked through the door but stopped before going through. "If you're gonna go, get ready by midnight, and be prepared for a fight." he left.

The room was silent for a moment before Davis sighed.

"They aren't Insurrectionists Rachel, and we need to make ourselves useful. We have to pick a side, and I chose the one that isn't trying to kill us… yet." He sat down on a couch along the wall. "Jax will go with Neo and Roman to deal with whoever this is, and in exchange we have a place to live. Don't cause them any trouble, that's an order."

"Och aye, sair." Rachel's voice was laced with anger but she didn't voice any.

She picked up her sniper and began to leave the room.

"Don't let me stop you from working on your weapon, it's important to keep it up and running." Davis made to stand before Rachel glared at him.

"Ah was dain anyways." she left in the direction of her assigned room.

Davis sent a look to Jax and sighed.

"Don't suppose you have anything to say about this?" Jax stared at him for a moment. "Yeah that's about what I thought you'd say. Keep an eye on Roman and his friend. I don't want the UNSC to be known for killing civilians." He looked to the door and then back to Jax. "Do whatever you have to to the rest. Civilians are out but any thugs or armed people in your way... be creative. Dazzle them with your skills or intimidate them with your strength, I don't care which just make it happen."

The room was silent except for the sound of Jax pushing a highly volatile substance into a small metal canister with the intent to throw them at people, only half as dangerous as the next words to come out of Davis' mouth.

"I know what you did for ONI." Jax stiffened and looked over his shoulder at the man on the couch. "I know what your job was and I know how many times you had to use your concerning set of skills." He set the bullets in his hand down. "I'm not judging you, we were at war. We all had to do things we weren't proud of. Are you opposed to using those skills should Roman or I ask?" Jax looked at the man's face.

Jax nodded and turned back to his task at hand.

"I get the feeling this 'persuasion'' might be a little shadier than what Roman says, don't tell Rachel or Lewis. I need to go talk to the man." Davis stood up and went through the door in silence.

"I told him, if you were wondering." Liz's model popped up from the chip she was using to display herself. "When we got in touch with you, he and I had a long discussion about your past. With him the highest ranking officer on planet, or hell, in the dimension, he was granted clearance. Sorry."

Jax shook his head and turned his attention back to the ammo he was making.

 _You can't escape your past, so why hold a grudge when it catches up?_

* * *

 _Dakota Davis  
_ _Roman's Hideout_

Dakota left the room and let out a sigh of relief.

 _He wasn't gonna kill me._

 _Can you guarantee that?_

 _He's a Spartan, and he was ONI, he always follows orders._

 _Then why does it worry you so much?_

He dispelled the thoughts and went in search of Roman. When he found him he was barking orders at someone who had apparently done something stupid.

"We'll be going with you and Neo." Davis walked up next to him and watched the people scurry about the warehouse.

Roman puffed his cigar. "The Tin Man will certainly make this easier, no clue how many idiots are in that rat infested building." Roman and Davis were silent as a small brown rodent ran out across the floor.

"He has orders to not hurt any civilians, but like you said, that shouldn't be a problem." Dakota gave Roman a pointed look from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah yeah, you know,for military you're pretty reasonable, not quite the same for your friend, no offence." Roman returned his own glare and looked back over the warehouse.

"You'll have to forgive her, she isn't used to life outside the military. She grew up the daughter of a general, she doesn't know what it's like in the muck of the civilian world."

"What's that... Insurrection I seem to remind her of?" Roman turned and looked at him.

"She knows your not an Insurrectionist, she's just looking at the similarities and not willing to look at the differences." Dakota sighed. "For the most part it was an anti-centralist government movement. They didn't like how the people in charge ran things and so tried to break off. They broke a few centuries of peace, and that got them a lot of hate." Dakota turned and looked away. "They had pretty good reasons for what they wanted, they just went about it poorly. Her father was charged with putting down a few attacks during the war and that built up some animosity."

"Some things never change apparently, we have our fair share of problems." he stopped to take a long puff of his cigar. "So long as you have space to grow and are kept fed no one complains, but as soon as you don't-"

"Humanity reverts back to its strongest instinct, war." A silence sat between the two as both recounted old memories. "No point in bothering with it 's an entire dimension away. Now, about this mission?"

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Dorm_

Aless had never been happier to see a bed in her life, that included after months of deployment. Coco and her idea of 'shopping' was one of the most exhausting things she had ever had to do. It wasn't so much physical exhaustion as the slow erosion of your mental capacity and dulling of her senses, Aless had seriously given thought to it being some kind of psychological warfare. A warfare waged with weapons Aless had no experience with; shoe, skirts, jeans and, the worst of all, dresses.

 _Not the worst way to spend a day… maybe?_

She shuddered at the memories and sat up in her bed. She looked at the three bags that sat on her dresser with mixed emotions. One part of her hated the clothes for the memories of the experience while another part couldn't help but appreciate the clothes to allow her to blend in better, the last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself before the UNSC got here to get Ben and her off planet. She decided the clothes could stay.

She stood and walked to the bathroom preparing herself a shower, pulling out the set of pajamas Coco had payed for on their trip.

 _I hope she doesn't ask for anything too big in return._

Aless thought on what she knew of the girl, she concluded it wouldn't be anything undoable. Coco would ask a favour and she would repay it and they would be square.

 _Friendship is a deal after all, I refuse to be in debt to her._

She turned her attention back to the bathroom and the relaxing heat that lie within. She felt the warm heat and smelt the steam.

For the first time in a long time she let herself relax.

* * *

 _Arthur Steele  
_ _Atlas Military Intelligence Compound_

"Sir, we got a signal in grid 3A 4C." The woman sat in front of a computer turned to look at her superior.

"What frequency?" The man pulled up a small cup of coffee, giving him the kick he needed to stay wake.

"The computer says it's some kind of communications signal, but we can't make heads or tails of it. From what the computer can descramble it's something about containment." The woman's face twisted in confusion as the signal began to play over the system.

"Get me the General online." Arthur rose from his seat and looked out over the large monitor displaying the origin point of the signal.

"At this hour he shou-"

"Then wake him, he'll want to see this."

The signal was on a repeating loop from what they could understand. The area the signal originated from was deep into the grimm occupied lands, far from any kingdom or settlement.

There was one other term barely audible through the static. Over the speakers the same repeating words were played.

" _United Nations Space Command."_

"Any clue what that is commander?" The woman turned in her seat to look at him.

"Classified and above our pay grade I'm afraid, now get me the General."

* * *

 **Authors Note: And that's done and dusted.**

 **This chapter also has the best fight scene I have ever written, not that there are many contenders. I think this one fit just a little bit better than the Jax and Neo fight against the law enforcement.**

 **I am a little concerned that this chapter might be a little slow. The pacing of events can't stay up forever and I intend for this to be a slow interaction driven story, but plot is still needed.**

 **A last little note on the Rachel scottish accent thing. With the last chapter her lines were basically non existent and thus weren't changed when she did speak, and now her accent is back with avengence. I did have Jax point out the accent though to be fair it was only a subtle nod. If it's too hard to read or distracts from everything else, which I don't think it will, I can adjust accordingly.**

 **In the end I'm not super happy with this chapter. It's better than what I had at first, but not great.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and as always I encourage you to write a review and tell em what you think.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Here we are once again.**

 **Thank you to my editors for their patience and willingness to indulge in my shoddy story ideas, most of which never make it to the story, and to all of you readers for… well reading.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
_ _Romans Hideout_

"Thrilled to see you all made the right choice." Roman looked over the table at the four people stood opposite him. "So, here's the plan." He pulled out a cigar and paused for effect. "Davis and the other one are gonna go in through the back door while Neo, Armour, and myself go in through the roof. The building itself is an old hospital, the whole place is a dump, but it works pretty well for those trying to defend it. Landing pads on two of the wing roofs and the main roof offers a good vantage point for sniping." He chuckled as the girl he still couldn't really understand continued to glare at him. "You worth anything with that rifle?" He didn't look at her, but instead focused on the street laid out on the table in front of him.

"Aam a damn guid shot!" Rachel leaned on her back foot and mumbled something under her breath.

"You get a fine view of the hospital with a beautiful two bedroom that I just so happen to 'own' in this building across the way. If that bastard gets past us or out onto the landing pad, that's when you come in." He pulled out an extra scroll and set it on the table, sliding it over to Davis. "That has two pre-programmed numbers. One of them is the piece of crap I'll be using, and the other is the number to your ride out. Don't call me unless someone is dead… especially if she dies, that I'd like to hear." He spared a glance up from the table at Rachel who scoffed and turned away.

"Should be easy enough. Any clue how many people will be there?" Davis leaned on the table, ignoring Roman's glare towards Rachel.

"About two dozen idiots with guns out front and about half that in back. Then some slightly more competent idiots with rifles along the building, Neo said there was about eleven." Davis glanced up and looked at Neo, likely contemplating the saying 'said' in relation to a mute. "There's usually a Bullhead on one of the landing pads. Worse case, I'll leave a launcher with sniper girl."

"Ok." Davis turned to address his slightly more disciplined henchmen. "Gear up, be ready and at the Bullhead in ten minutes."

The soldiers saluted and scurred off to their rooms to gather their gear. Davis turned to Roman.

"Your gonna have to whip some of these guys into that shape, could always use well disciplined mar- I mean soldiers." Davis scoffed and spared one last glance to the map before going off to his own room.

Neo turned to Roman and sarcastically mimicked the salute of the rest of their crew before walking off towards the Bullhead.

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
Outer Vale_

Jax felt the fight leave the man in his arms as he succumbed to unconsciousness, body going limp. He kept his arms around the mans throat for a moment more before he lowered the man to the floor and turned his attention to Neo who had done the same to her own guard, though she seemed to be taking a picture with his limp body. Once she had stashed her scroll away she turned to him and Roman.

"I don't entirely get that either." He turned to Jax. "I just look the other way when she does stuff like that. I do have to hand it to the girl however, it is quite the collection." Roman shook his head and moved to the side so Jax and Neo could line up on the door.

The two shared a look before Jax opened the door, letting Neo through first. The rooftop had been fairly unguarded and a clear vulnerable point in the structure's defense, though to be fair it should have been quite hard to reach without the assistance of a Bullhead, and at that point the element of surprise would be lost. Neo's semblance had proven to be quite useful in getting the trio to the ideal location. Jax pulled out an energy sword, but chose not to ignite it.

He took a moment to get a bearing on his surroundings before Neo began heading down a random hallway. He spared a glance at Roman.

"Two possibilities, she's right and we can call it an early night, or she's wrong and she gets to wail on a few idiots. Win win in her eyes, and we don't have to deal with an angry Neo." Roman continued after the girl.

The group came to the end of a hallway and heard the sound of muffled voices through a door. Jax began to position himself to the other side before he heard a knocking sound, and saw Neo with her hand held out against the wooden door.

The door opened and a large, bearded man stood there, eyes going wide as Neo waved at him with an all too friendly grin on her face. A swift hit to the throat from the girl had him on the ground before he could yell, and Jax slipped into the room.

Neo and Roman made their way to an adjacent room. Jax could hear the sounds of a scuffle before the room fell silent once more, and Neo came back with some kind of sandwich in hand.

"Doesn't look like our man." Roman kicked one of the men laying on the ground. "Next room then."

Jax couldn't help but smile and scoff, nor could he prevent the slump of his shoulders when Neo took point. They left the room moving onto the rest of the building.

 _Hope the others are having better luck._

* * *

 _Rachel Wiren  
_ _Snipers Nest across from Hospital_

"Team Crook hae entered th' buildin'." Rachel zoomed in with her scope and watched the people descend from the roof, into the hospital and out of her line of sight.

"Be nice Wiren. How's the back door looking?" Davis' vice rang clear through her headset

She rolled her eyes and flicked her scope over to their chosen entrance point.

"Yoo've got too bastards up front, tree in back, un more by the door itself an' two idiots patrollin' the second level."

"What are they packin'?" she saw Davis move along a truck to get a better vantage point for when the gun fight started.

"Th' two up front hae some kin' ay melee weapon. Th' other fowr oan grund lev'l all hae th' sam kin' ay assault rifle, though it cood be some kin' ay multi-gun from what I know about thes planet's firearms. Th' two up top hae some kin' of elongated version of th' sam thin', I'm guessing sniper ur marksman rifles." She slipped the scope over the building, scanning the windows.

"You get the two on the top and then scope down to the guy at the door, Lewis and I can deal with the three up front guys with guns. Once you got your assigned targets, it's weapons free on the melee guys. On your shot." she saw Davis and Lewis move their suppressed weapons up to their chests and prepare to lunge up to fire.

Rachel breathed in, closing her eyes for a moment. Before opening them and firing at the first target on the second floor. There was no loud bang, due to the suppressor, and no crash of glass, due to the broken window. The target fell with a loud smack, the other guard perked up before taking a round through the chest and falling forward.

The third target had just started to react to the shots fired from her ground level counterparts as the round impacted with his head. She zeroed in on the melee guards and fired, swearing as the first shot veered to the left before the second shot hit the man's heart.

Silence reigned over the block as the three waited for the reaction from the rest of the building's guards. After a moment to reassure they still had the element of surprise, Davis and Lewis got up and started to move the bodies out of the line of sight of any passers by.

"Yur clear un approach, once yoor in the buildin' I'll lose line o' sight... 'less they're dumb enough to sit neer a window. Gud hunting sir." She scanned over the sides of the building checking to make sure no more guards were going to round the corner and see the downed snipers.

"Good luck Wiren, Davis out." The two men below moved through the doorway and out of her line of sight.

* * *

 _Dakota Davis  
_ _Hospital Interior_

Dakota wasn't sure what he expected when he heard run down hospital, but the interior definitely fit the description. Between the broken walls and floors it was frankly surprising that the building was still standing. Said floor was covered in broken shards of glass, cracking and snapping under their boots.

The entrance gave way to a room emitting a soft light, and the mumbled sound of conversation. Dakota spared a glance over his shoulder to Lewis, and gestured for him to stay low and move to the other side of the short entrance way. They kept themselves in the shadows but drew closer until they got a clear view of the open room.

Three people huddled around a makeshift table. He took a moment to see if there were any ways around the group, some kind of alternate hallway or a way to hide on the outskirts of the room, hidden by the shadows. In the end he leveled his gun and spoke over the radio.

He spoke softly despite the fact his helmet would keep his voice concealed. "You take the girl, I'll take the two guys on her left."

Lewis nodded and pulled his SMG up, standing slightly taller and aiming at his target.

A brief moment of sound from the two men and the room fell silent once again. While the guns were suppressed, it was far from quiet. The sound from the guns echoed through the room, the two who fired them ducking back into the shadows.

After a moment, once it was clear no one was coming to investigate the sound, the two got up and began to make their way to the stairway on the far side of the room.

They spared a moment to check the bodies and move them into a nearby closet before meeting at the door.

The two stacked up on either side of the door, Lewis opening the door and let him through first. The stairs were in a moderately better shape than the room they just left, the paint still peeled off the walls and concrete stairs, but they appeared sturdy.

Dakota led the way up the stairs and through the door on the second level, working his way to some of the offices that once belonged to the various doctors and surgeons who worked in the old building.

Their objective was to cover the second and third levels of the building and search for the target in the offices and cafeteria, and meet up with Roman, Neo, and Jax, who were working their way down, at the employee lounge on the fourth floor.

He brought his attention back to the hallway in front of him. Their movement was slow, choosing to stay low and hop from shadow to shadow to keep themselves hidden, but they made it through the hallways without incident.

When he rounded the corner to the hallway with the offices however, they encountered more guards. The group didn't seem to be watching any door in particular but kept a close proximity to the bulk of the rooms.

He chose to wait and see if the group would wander off down the hall. Five minutes went by, each second stretching on due to paranoia and an inability to relax. When it became clear the group wasn't going to leave he keyed up his radio, turning to Lewis in the process.

"I'm going to draw them over to that room with some noise. Once they come to check it out and get through the door your gonna come up behind and we will flank them." He didn't wait for a verbal response, mostly due to the fact Lewis didn't have the liberty of a helmet that could block out sound, and instead waited for him to nod before turning his attention back to the room before them.

He moved himself over to the door carefully, avoiding making the slightest bit of noise until he had it opened, at which point he broke a glass jar on the floor and positioned himself next to the door.

The sound had the desired effect and cut off the conversation the men were having in an instant. Through the blinds over the room's window he saw them approach the door carefully, he could also make out Lewis' body in the alcove behind them. The group failed to notice him, until a man with a tail looked over his shoulder.

The man who noticed Lewis moved to take aim with his gun. Lewis' gun was already drawn however and was more than able to get the first shot off. The other three men heard the shot and began to turn, leaving them unprepared for his own attack.

Dakota's Battle Rifle kicked as he fired a shot through the chest of the nearest man, followed quickly by another through a second's stomach. Lewis did much the same, leaving the four men hunched over in the hallway.

Lewis let out a breath he had been holding and the two began heading to the first door they had wanted to check. They moved quicker now hoping to limit the time anyone in those rooms had to react to the sound outside the room.

One of the doors opened before they got to it and a woman stepped out. She hadn't been out more than a second before he had shot her with his rifle, but to his astonishment she merely flinched back into the room.

Lewis was the first to break the silence and move to better cover to watch over the door. "Looks like we got one with Aura. How much you think it takes to overcome that stuff?"

"Stay focused, we don't know what she's armed with." Dakota moved to the wall just before the door and prepared to move across the doorway and fire at her from the other side, while it would leave him open it would allow him a clear view of the room and its occupants.

Just before he moved a loud blast came from the room and a chunk of the wall, where Lewis had just been seconds ago, broke away. A second after that the woman came through the door, took a shot from both Dakota and Lewis' guns on her forearm, and charged Dakota.

The girl covered the short distance in a matter seconds, slamming her rifle along the side of Dakota's helmet. He staggered back from the hit and received a kick to the torso before she turned and took a shot at Lewis, who had thankfully found cover.

Dakota used the moment of her distraction to bring his battle rifle up and take another shot at her chest, much to the same effect, though she did stagger back at the force of such a close range attack. She dealt a swift kick to his rifle, dislodging it from his hands, and then followed up with a kick to his side, throwing him across the room as she returned her attention to Lewis.

 _I was looking for an excuse to use this anyways._

Dakota reached an arm over his shoulder, deactivating the mag lock to his secondary and pulling it around to his front. The salvaged Brute Shot made for an intimidating sight to most with its large red painted blade and black body. He pulled out a chain of the custom grenades he had custom made for it.

The belt of four slid into the weapon smoothly and he took a stance preparing himself for the kick as he took aim at his opponent, who was now merely a few steps away from Lewis' cover.

The projectile struck and for a second Dakota's target was concealed in smoke, before she came sprinting out. Dakota reacted by pulling the trigger and launching the other three explosives at her, and for a moment he began to relax, until the smoke bulged out and revealed her holding what remained of her shotgun which she had apparently used as a bat/shield from the grenades.

She closed the short distance in a matter of seconds and went in for a punch before a large metal blade caught her under her ribs and carried her up and over his body. He slammed her down and angled the blade, pushing his weight down on the top forcing it into her chest.

Her body fell still but he kept the pressure on a moment more to be certain. After the silence began to stretch on he lifted himself and his Brute Shot up. He took another second to look down over her body before turning to Lewis.

"Check that room to make sure it's clear." He gestured to the doorway she had emerged from and made to follow before a sound came from down the hall.

"Well looks like that ruckus didn't go unnoticed." Lewis rearranged himself to cover the hall.

"Looks like it. You got any grenades with you?" Dakota mimicked Lewis' actions but in a position that offered some some protection to his back as well as his front.

"On a stealth op?"

"Yeah yeah, pull up the map and see about the fastest way out of here." Dakota turned his attention back to the hallway as Lewis ducked down and began to plot their escape path.

 _This should certainly be an eventful night._

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Outer Vale_

"We're gonna be pulling out, most of the building is coming down on us." Davis' voice cracked over the scroll in Romans hand.

"Remind me why I'm paying you again." Roman rolled his eyes as he looked to Neo.

"You don't, besides, we're drawing away most the resistance in the upper levels. If you make your way to the landing pads you should be able to get your guy. Meet you back at the base." A loud cracking sound came through the speaker and the room was silent as the call died.

"Welp, looks like your soldier boys are doing their job. Be a shame not to do ours, to the pads." he gave a twirl of his cane and began down another corridor towards a door at the side of the hall leading to a staircase. "Neo, if you would."

The girl walked over to the door and leaned on it as it swung open and a soft clicking sound practically blared through the hallway. In truth it was nearly silent and would have gone unnoticed had Jax not have been used to listening for it.

He wasn't sure when he had covered the distance, nor when he had pushed Roman aside and thrown Neo down the stairs. In a single moment he went from standing to leaping to the side of the door. As he fell down onto the small black box, he thought about who he was doing it for, the strangers he was literally leaping on a bomb for.

Memories of a life spent in the gutters moving from industrial world to industrial world. A life spent in service of strangers who he never met and hid their motives from view. People who would ask him to kill and murder for the fact that they said so, not that these two were massively different. In the end the difference between these two and the people of his past was small and would mean nothing to those they killed, but it meant all the difference to Jax.

These two didn't hide who they were. They didn't pretend to be civilized and talk about justice and do their nasty deeds out of view if the public. They accepted who they were and did not let that bother them.

The smile left his face as another, more important, thought occurred to him.

 _Just how strong is this new armour?  
_

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
_ _Outer Vale_

"You stupid fucking idiot!" Roman pulled Jax and himself through the rooftop door, moving to the side to avoid being shot by their amateur level attackers. "You owe me for this too!" He set Jax down against the side of the rooftop.

He turned to see Neo holding back the people at the door before pulling out his scroll and dialing a number to signal the pilot. He looked down to see Jax's scorched and burnt chest.

"Hold this and cover Neo!" Roman handed him his rifle and looked around for the Bullhead. "What the hell do I even pay you idiots for." Roman mumbled to himself before noticing Jax's head start to fall. "Hey! Cover Neo damn it!" Roman slapped his helmet, ignoring the pain from the blunt hit. "You still gotta pay me back for the whole taking in your friends, blessing you with my amazing medical services, and the carrying your ass up those fucking stairs, don't forget that! Fuck!"

Roman stood up and aimed Melodic Cudgel at the swarm of guards coming through the door. The weapon never fired however, the guards being taken down by a swarm of gunfire from above. Roman flinched in the direction of the fire seeing the Bullhead he had summoned in a moment earlier. The loud roaring of the ships gun fell silent a moment later.

Neo ran over to Roman and helped him pick up the downed teenager and carry him to the edge as the Bullhead lowered.

Once the three were on the Bullhead it began to lift off. Roman set Jax down in one of the seats, Neo helping to strap the armoured figure in.

"Tell Hinto to be ready by the time we get there." He wiped a hand down his face and pulled out a cigar before going back into the main body of the Bullhead.

He looked to Neo who was working on removing the idiot's helmet. When she removed it, it's wearer's chest rose slightly more evenly, but that did little for the hole in his armour, nor the blood that dribbled from his mouth.

The man's face was always something that made him shudder. His face wasn't anything terrifying, nor was it something awe inspiring. Sure it was a little scratched up, a burn or two here or there, but it was the eyes. The guy's eyes had an edge over them, like he was always analyzing the situation and the most efficient way to do something, Roman didn't have to take many guesses at what, and yet his eyes had a mist over them, like the man wasn't entirely there. It wasn't a very common look, and one Roman could only pin to a few people, and they were always dangerous people.

Jax looked up to Roman for a moment, locking eyes with each other. He gave the best smile he could manage and held the cigar out from his mouth.

"Now you'll owe me for three, I recommend you slow down and start repaying me instead of racking up any more favors." Jax scoffed limply before looking out the Bullheads door.

Neo turned to look at him, panic in her eyes. He couldn't bring himself to return her gaze. He sat down opposite the two. Neo turned to look at the boy again, Roman failed to keep the smile on his face. They hardly knew the him and he had just been willing to to die for them, the bastard had been willing to die for him, Roman wasn't fond of that concept.

"You better keep that girl off me when we get back. Last thing I need is more of her gibberish about how I broke protocol or blah blah blah." Jax looked at him and shuffled up.

When he came to a full sitting position he held up a finger.

"Huh... fine, I'll count that as a favor and we can count this one as a pay back as well, but I'm holding you for the whole carrying you up three flights of stairs crap." Roman pointedly did not look in his direction.

Jax leaned his head back against the Bullhead wall and closed his eyes, before a hand slapped his face. When his head came down his smile had morphed into a smirk and his eyes had a look of confusion, all directed at Neo.

"We'll be touching down in ten minutes." The pilots voice came over the intercom.

Neo and Roman both looked towards the cabin, a small smile spreading across their faces before they turned back to the matter at hand.

 _Can't get the favors out of a dead man, right?_

"You're gonna owe me for another doctor's visit." Roman stood up and moved to help Jax onto his feet as the Bullhead touched down.

As the trio disembarked the Bullhead they were met by Hinto and the rest of the soldiers.

"Who's- What the hell happened!?" the group sprinted to meet up with them, two of the soldiers taking up Roman and Neo's position. "What the hell did you two do!?" Davis spared a moment to look at Jax and then directed his attention to Roman and Neo.

"Hinto, get him into your office and see what you can do for him." Roman nodded to Neo for her to follow.

"What did you do!?" Davis turned him around with a tug on his arm as he pulled out his side arm and aimed the pistol at Romans gut.

"I didn't do anything! That idiot threw himself on a bomb some stupid merc set up." Roman jerked himself out of Davis' hold. "Who the hell are you people that that was his first instinct?" Roman sighed. "You fuckin' idiots, I swear..."

The warehouse had mostly been abandoned over the last few days, due in no small part to the new arrivals. Roman had been working to move any supplies of use, but not of necessity, out of the building and to other locations. The initial concern was that the entire group had been some kind of sting operation and would turn them all over at the first opportunity. That notion had been abandoned when they had told Roman just where they came from. He didn't exactly believe their story, but it was so outlandish that it would never be used as a cover story, only an idiot would have expected someone to believe such a tale. It was for that reason that Roman believed it, or at the very least, he believed they believed it.

He found his way to the lounge and pulled out a bottle he kept hidden in the cupboards. He was followed by Davis.

"Jax made a good impression on Neo, she'll probably try to repay him for this. Though you can debate whether that's good or bad." Roman chuckled and pulled down two glasses and set them down on the counter, pouring Davis and himself a drink. "Now sit down." Roman picked up the glasses and moved to a table on the other side of the room.

Davis followed setting himself down opposite Roman before picking up the glass set in front of him.

"What happened to my Spartan?" his voice was steady and calm but had an underlying tone of something more complicated, and Roman ignored the idea of him having possession over said somebody.

"We were searching the building and rounded a corner to go up a staircase that just so happened to have a bomb on the other side and your boy, genius that he is, pushed us aside and jumped on it himself." Roman took a moment to let the information sink in. "What's that armour made of? It took the blast pretty well, all things considered. He should have been a smear on the wall but no, just a large burn and scorch across his chest" He drank the glass in his hand and pulled the bottle up to poor another. "You know he tried to pick himself back up and continue down the hallway. He didn't get far before he dropped to the ground. About the time Neo and I got him on his feet he couldn't walk, had to carry him out." Roman shook his head and heard the other man sigh.

"That's a Spartan for ya, part in parcel of their training." Davis let out a short sigh and downed his drink. "Best go in and check on him, hope it's not too bad."

The walk to Hinto's office was short but was amplified by the conclusion waiting at the end. The two men approached the door just in time to see Hinto walk out. The two men were not the only people outside the door however. The other two soldiers and Neo had been waiting and swarmed the doctor as soon as he opened the door.

"Tell me the good news doc." Hinto didn't meet his eyes. "Oh. How bad is it?" The group fell silent.

"It's a miracle he's alive at all. That armour almost held out, but it didn't stop the whole explosion. The armour bent back into his chest and turned into shrapnel." He brought a hand to his face. "I got the metal out and boosted his healing with some semblance work, but…"

"Ye cannae take 'is word fer it! Get a proper doct'r here or somethin', we need ev'ry man we c'n get our 'ands on!" Gibberish girl rambled on about Davis' inaction, Roman couldn't bring himself to listen.

Roman looked to Neo, or rather the back of her head, eyes locked onto the door the doctor had just emerged from.

"Tch. Fine, but you're gonna be responsible for training him." Roman turned to the door and walked through before anyone could stop him.

The room was silent for all of a second before the rest of the group came barging in, Jax's head turning weakly in their direction.

"I didn't have any immediate anesthetic and I couldn't wait, what I gave him should kick in soon. He likely won't wake up after." Hinto whispered the last part to the group, but Jax seemed to notice.

His face was blank and expressionless as he attempted to sit himself up only to be pushed down by Roman's hand on his shoulder.

"We'll call this one even. You still owe me for a few others though, and you can't pay me back if you're dead." Roman sighed and set his hat down on the table next to the operating table. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?" He looked over the group and locked eyes with Davis.

"What do you think yo-" Rachel moved to grab him but was intercepted by Neo, Davis and Hinto.

"Wiren, wait outside, you too Lewis... you have five minutes." The two nodded to each other as the soldiers left.

Once again Roman's eyes fell to Neo and once again her eyes were locked elsewhere.

Roman sighed and closed his eyes. "For it is in our infamy that we achieve immortality..."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Yes, tis a thing.**

 **As this chapter wraps up readers will probably see my plan a little, however I will say nothing until a later date.**

 **As always thank you for your time and a big thanks to my editors for their help and as always I encourage you all to review and criticism my work so I can improve it.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: Here I go again down the only story I have ever known.**

 **Kriegslied (one of my many many editors) has officially started some stories and has some words up, not very far yet but it's something. The stories are Warhammer based if that's your thing. My other editors aren't even close to uploading their work...scrubs.**

 **As always I encourage you all to review and criticize my work, this helps me make a better story and craft a far more cohesive plot than what I could do on my own.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Dorm Room_

 _Aless lay in her bed looking up at the ceiling, phasing in and out of unconsciousness, unable to stay asleep any longer than a few minutes._

" _You can be a very heavy sleeper, did you know that?"_

 _She jerked her head up and over to the location she heard the voice from, only to be met by a vacant space near the door._

" _Huh, you're getting sloppy." This time the voice was from behind her head, on the only other bed in the room._

 _She pulled her hand out from under her pillow, withdrawing the pistol she had hidden there. She trained the weapon on the figure's head before her brain processed who she was actually looking at._

" _Ben?" She felt her arm grow heavy and begin to fall back down to the bedside._

" _Darn, and here I thought you were gonna shoot me. Would save me the trouble of dealing with you, I guess." He stood up from the bed and moved to the bag on the far wall, withdrawing one of his weapons._

" _What are you doing here? You should be in the infirmary." She made to stand, only to find herself unable._

" _It's all your fault you know?" He turned away from her, eyes fixed on the weapon in his hands._

" _What are you talking about?" She again tried to stand and go over to her friend to check and see if he was still injured, it would have been just like him to wake from a coma and leave the infirmary in search of a familiar face, but she again found herself unable._

" _I was off my game, let my guard down, because I was rushing my fight with that monster. I was trying to get over to you before you could screw up that fight and get those kids killed."_

" _Ben I-" She felt a bitter coldness wash over her body._

" _I should have asked for a different fireteam." He kept his eyes firmly on his weapon bag. "At the very least you grabbed my guns, lord knows they mean more to me than you do." He grabbed the bag and turned to the door._

" _Ben where are you going?" She felt every muscle in her body strain against whatever force was keeping her down to no avail._

" _You're too weak to protect yourself, let alone anyone else. That's why I wasn't focused on that Deathstalker, because of you. Now I'm gonna die, not on the battlefield, or at the bottom of a glass, or in my old age, but unconscious and unable to do anything about it!" He turned and looked directly at her. His green eyes filled with a familiar hatred and disgust that she had never seen aimed at her before, "I wish I never met you. Now I'm gonna go warn that team across the hall to put as much distance between themselves and you as possible."_

" _Ben, I never wanted to hurt anyone!" She felt an unfamiliar warmth sting at her eyes._

" _That's almost worse, isn't it? You don't mean to hurt people, but you do. Everyone around you dies." He stopped and turned back to the door. "Do you believe in destiny Aless? Because you ruined mine."_

Aless practically leaped out of bed, drawing her pistol out from under the pillow with a scream. She avoided pulling the trigger when she realized no one was standing before her. She scanned the room, looking for someone, but seeing only a room shrouded in darkness.

She fell down to her knees with a quiet whimper. Attempting to gain her bearings she stood back up and made for the dresser sitting along the wall. She intended to change into something fitting a workout, but as she approached her eyes fell on the bag of weapons sitting under the vacant bed in the room. She slowly backed farther and farther away from the offending items, and the feelings of failure they entailed, towards the door.

Her back hit the door with a hard thud turning quickly she threw the door open and closed it all without looking away form the bag with Ben's belongings. She set herself up against the door in the hallway. Legs growing heavier with every passing second and subsequent beat of her heart as she began to fall to the floor, the strange feeling from her dream surfacing around her eyes.

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
_ _Roman's Hideout_

The door closed with a soft click behind him as he left the room and went out into the hallway. He reached a hand into his coat and pulled out a cigar before even looking up at the faces staring back at him. The emotions of the group ranged from hopeful, to understanding, to curious, and even one bitter hatred. There were only one pair of eyes he sought out however.

He looked down to Neo and nodded. The girl let out a breath she had been holding as Hinto made his way through the group to go check on his patient, Neo followed after the good doctor and shut the door behind her.

"Would one o' you feckers care to tell us what tha' was about!?" The other, less friendly, female of the group shouted in his direction.

"Your friend will live." He turned to Davis and the two shared a look followed by a nod as Roman made his way through the group to the lounge.

"Th' spartan an' Ah aren't friends! Noo tell me whit tha' hell ye jist did!" She had taken a few steps to place herself firmly in his path.

Roman rolled his eyes. "I unlocked his Aura." The three soldiers stood silent in the room as Roman pushed past them to the place he knew had alcohol.

"Rachel go talk to Liz about this, Lewis you go with her." The latter began to move in the direction that they had last left the fake lady, but the former only shot a glare in his direction. "Rachel?"

"Aye sir." She pivoted on her foot and began heading in the same direction as the other.

Davis followed after Roman however, likely in that age old quest of inebriation that he himself was currently on. The two walked in silence as they approached the lounge. Only when the door closed and the two were alone did Davis speak up.

"Thank you, for whatever it is you did. Assuming it works, that is." He moved to a table on the far wall.

Roman followed, making a detour to acquire a proper drink. "I didn't do it for you lot. He owes me, and he cant repay me if he's dead." There was a moment of silence. "Also, the little bastard saved Neo's life, it was the least I could do."

"Thank you either way." Davis looked down at the two bottles before them, letting a goofy smile spread across his face. "It will make one hell of a story, to bad he can't tell it. You got any good ones?"

"I'm THE crime boss of Vale, of course I have stories." He poured the two of them drinks, sliding the glass across the table.

"What'd you say to a little drinking game?"

* * *

 _Velvet Scarlatina  
_ _Beacon Dorm Room_

Velvet sat up in her bed, searching for the source of the noise that had awoken her. While it hadn't really been that loud, as evident by her sleeping teammates, her faunus heritage made it far more noticeable.

She moved her legs over the edge of her bed, feeling her feet against the soft carpeting on the floor. She heard a thud from the hallway and the sound of a door closing.

She rose from her bed and approached the door, hearing a muffled sound from the other side. She opened the door to see a slumped over figure leaning against the door.

Aless had yet to notice Velvet was there. She sat with her head on top of her knees which she had brought up to her chest. Her face was mostly vacant, though it was contorted in confusion and something else.

"Aless." She was careful to keep her voice low as she shut the door to her room behind her.

Aless looked up at her for a second and then scrambled to her feet, and after a moment of silence turning and half running half walking off down the hall.

"Aless wait!" Velvet tried to catch up to her but was unable to keep her pace.

"Sometimes it's best to be alone." She let out a startled yelp and turned around to see Yatsuhashi staring back at her.

"She looked so..." She turned back to look down the hallway in the direction she had ran. "She looked so alone." She spoke o louder than a whisper.

"She is alone, at least in her eyes." She felt a hand fall onto her shoulder.

"But she's not alone, she's surrounded by people who would be willing to help her if she asked."

"People who would, but none that could." He let out a sigh. "People can only help others if they are willing to let them, she doesn't know us. She doesn't know anyone here, expect for Benjamin. He's possibly the only person who could help her-"

"But he's not here." Velvet's head fell slightly as she came to the daunting realization that she couldn't help.

"Alessandra will have to sort it out on her own or be willing to let others in, and I fear she won't let others in as long as she has no one to convince her to."

"And no one can convince her because she won't let anyone in." Velvet brought her head back up and turned to head back to her room.

* * *

 _Dakota Davis  
_ _Romans Hideout_

"The rules are pretty simple. I state something about you or your past, If I'm right you drink, if I'm wrong I drink. If I say something and it's right I go again until I'm wrong, then you go. Be honest, makes it way better. Got it?" Roman nodded and he started the game. "Ok… you first resorted to crime to.. get enough money to help your family."

"Drink." Roman leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face.

"Now you go." Dakota downed the shot he had and poured himself another one.

The criminal brought a hand to his face to and thought for a moment before speaking. "You were kicked out of that ODST thing or whatever you called it."

Dakota took a drink.

"You-" Roman started before two people walked through the door, one of which was quick to speak.

"Whit ta' hell ur ye twos doin' in 'er? Jax is alife an' yoo're sittin' in 'er drinkin'." Rachel approached focusing her attention on Dakota sending the occasional glare in Roman's direction. Beside her Neo walked over to Roman and sat down around the table.

"Is he awake?" Rachel didn't respond but scowled at him, he scoffed and continued. "Just a little drinking game, you two want in?" Davis gave a look to both Rachel and Neo. The latter shook her head no.

"Ah ne'er say no ta a drikin' gam, is in mah genetics. Is it 'at one ye made up?" She took a seat down beside him.

"I didn't make it, its an old family game my dad taught me, but yes that one." He took a moment to poor Rachel a drink before turning to Roman. "Still your turn."

"Right…Gibber girl." She narrowed her eyes but said nothing. "You and Davis have history."

She begrudgingly took a drink.

"More than just work history."

Her eyes narrowed a little more as she took another drink.

"You two had a thing at some point."

She smirked and put her glass down. Roman scowled but took a drink.

"Yoo've killed fowk." The room became silent as Roman looked at her.

Roman took a drink.

"Ye enjoy it." Rachel continued to nail in the question.

"Never enjoyed killing,only did it when it would be a bad idea not to, if it might be a problem later."

Rachel took a drink.

"Davis how about you?" Roman turned from her and looked at him.

"That's not how the game-"

Roman sighed and rolled his eyes. "You killed people when you didn't have to." Roman spared a glance over to Rachel.

Dakota waited for a second before drinking.

"Something involving her." Roman gestured to Rachel.

Dakota drank.

"You'd do it again."

Dakota drank and looked at Roman.

Roman scoffed. "Guess that made it the right choice, I'm gonna have to stop it here. I have business tomorrow and can't be hungover for it."

Roman and Neo rose from their seats and left the lounge, leaving Rachel and Dakota alone.

"I'm sorre'." Rachel reached across the table grabbing the bottle Roman had left there. "Ah brooght 'at up" she downed her glass then poured herself another, drinking that one as well.

"Dont worry about it." Dakota reached over and grabbed the bottle mimicking Rachel's actions. "I need to go check on Jax." He made a point to take the bottle with him.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Medical Wing_

Aless wasn't sure when she had decided to start running from her problems but here she was, running. The dream had been strange enough, and had left her shaken more than she cared to admit, but the sudden presence of another person? She didn't want anyone to see her like that.

She wasn't sure when she had started to head for the medical wing but she was regretting it now. She had been careful to avoid any of the night time nurses, unaware if she was allowed to go into Ben's room at such a late hour.

She kept her head low and waited to be sure no one was in the area before opening the door to his room. As she closed the door she was careful to keep her eyes anywhere but on the room's occupant.

She found herself moving to the window, looking over the forest below and the shattered moon above, both serving to distract her from her thoughts.

 _It was just a dream_

 _Then why does it bother you so much?_

 _It's perfectly normal for people to have weird dreams._

 _What if it wasn't just a dream?_

Aless shook her head and turned to look at Ben, still laying on his bed, still alive.

 _He would never say anything like that!_

 _Of course not. He's a good person, unlike you. He cares enough about people to lie and put up with you, for the betterment of those around him. Not for you._

She shook her head again in a feeble attempt to dispel the thoughts running rampant through her head.

 _I'll ask him when he wakes up._

 _And he'll lie to you, to make you feel better. Not for you, but for himself. So that he won't have to deal with you anymore than necessary. You can't trust other people._

 _I'll force an answer out of him as soon as I can. I can trust Ben, I can._

 _And what if he doesn't wake up? What then?_

Her eyes widened slightly at the thought. The doctors had said they were not certain if he would wake up but she never gave that any real consideration. Ben had always been there for her, he had always bounced back. Why wouldn't he this time?

 _You'll be alone again. Weak and alone just like when you were a child. Just like all those times, abandoned on some forgotten planet, the mission completed and everyone dead but you. Why do you deserve to live when they all had to die for the mission?_

"Stop it!" She didn't yell, nor did she scream. It came out in a clipped whisper, an edge of hatred aimed at herself. "He's going to be fine. He's always fine. He's the only one who's ever fine."

She thought back to her old teams and old squads, all dead now. She was the only one left standing.

Aside from Ben.

He had never been on those missions and he wasn't a Spartan III, but he was the closest thing in this world she had to them. The only other person she had ever seen come back mission after mission. They were the same, two of a kind.

Jax and Sir were good, but they were dead now. Ben was all she had left and the thought of losing him terrified her, the thought of being alone terrified her.

She had faced odds stacked so unfairly in the enemy's favor. She had survived her training and even the missions that had claimed her brothers and sisters. She had faced them all without fear or the slightest shred of doubt… but when Ben was involved?

She turned away from him, looking back out the window at nothing in particular.

"Even when you can't say anything, you complicate everything you're involved in." She felt a smile creep onto her face, though not one born of happiness, but instead one that was common when thinking of long gone memories.

A soft chuckle left her lips at one in particular. "Remember that time with the Kraken? The ground commander 'don't worry, we have an orbital bombardment ready for it', but you just had to have a crack at it. 'One havok nuke in the center and problem solved, just gotta figure out how to land on the damned thing'." She chuckled at the memory of Roberts trying to talk him out of it. "Course I ended up taking a shot to the chest, one lucky Jackal bastard with a sniper, and I was stuck in the infirmary for a week because of your idiotic stunt. I never understood why you came by to check up on me, I think I get it now." She closed her eyes and thought back to the first time she had seen his face after the incident.

His eyes had lit up for a second before he looked away. The apology that came after had always been a strange thing to think on for her. Yes it was his plan, and yes she had gotten hurt, but he didn't mean for it to happen. She had been the one to mess up and yet he had profusely apologized to her. She never understood it, until now of course.

"You wanted to know I was still there, that I hadn't died the second you turned your back. That's the problem with being forced to spend so much time with someone…you get attached to them." When she stopped talking the room fell into a silence, as it should with only one person able to talk, but not an awkward one. It had a comfortably to it that she couldn't fully explain, it felt natural.

A content smile found its way to her face.

 _And that's why I trust him._

 _But does he trust you?_

The smile died a swift and bitter death as she made her way to the door. She knew that any sleep she may have gotten was long gone, but she knew a few ways to kill time. She looked up to the clock on the wall, concluding that three hours of sleep was plenty for the day to come anyways and made her way out of the room and back down the various deserted corridors.

When she arrived at her destination she was honestly surprised to see it wasn't locked. The door to Beacon's library swung shut softly as she entered and made her way to one of the terminals. She pulled back the chair and sat down, moving her hands swiftly across the keyboard as she began her search.

She began a search for anything involving the UNSC, when that yielded no results, she switched for broader topics. She did conclude one thing however, it was a clear information quarantine. The fact there was not so much as a mention of the organization was a clear enough sign that, for some reason, the governments of this planet, or at least someone, wanted to erase the UNSC from memory.

She did admit that whoever it was that had concealed the information had done a rather good job, no mention of anything she could call the UNSC, Covenant, Insurrection, or even information involving space travel. Whatever was going on on the planet, it was certainly well maintained.

She sat in the library, looking through news articles and pages from history books until light began to peer through the windows.

She released a sigh and rose from her chair, the terminal receding into the desk. She left the library and made her way through the still abandoned corridors back towards her room.

The early morning light falling through the windows gave the hallways a soft and gradually brighter glow. As she grew closer to her dorm her mind shifted back to the dream she had. She was slightly bemused with her reaction, not only to the dream itself but to Velvet and her first instinct being to run. Certainly not her proudest moment.

Aless tried to piece together her decision to flee at the moment. She had never shied away from a battle or a fight. She had never backed down from a task or challenge, aside form the occasional social event, opting to stay in Delta's quarters with Ben to keep her company instead.

She came to the door to her dorm, thankful she hadn't locked it when she fled the night before, having left her key/scroll in her room that would have been problematic. The room didn't look any different but the memory of her dream left a dissatisfied taste in her mouth.

She wasn't sure what she expected when she returned. She felt ashamed to say the room hadn't changed and that there was no factor to which she could attach her distaste. It had nothing to do with what was in the room, but rather what wasn't.

It left her with a feeling of weakness, a dependence on something that could be so easily removed and used against her. As she looked over the room she felt something else swell up inside her, she didn't recognize the feeling and it did nothing to help her feel any better, if anything, it made her feel worse.

She shook her head, dispelling her concerns, and moved over to the dresser and pulled out one of the school uniforms, changing swiftly and leaving the room as fast as she could manage. She rested her back against the door for a moment, waiting for that strange feeling to leave her. Once she felt it mostly gone she began to walk to her first class of the day, Professor Port's.

The day had barely begun and classes wouldn't start for a few hours, but she couldn't think of anywhere else she could get some peace and quiet. The walk through the hallway was easy due to the lack of students. Which was the reason she was surprised when she turned a corner and slammed into someone's back.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She helped the man stay standing and looked up to his face.

"Watch wh.." He took a second to look at her before continuing. "Don't worry, you can bump into me anytime." The man adopted a smirk that might have made him look more handsome had he been older, but doing very little for his current look. Aless failed to notice how his eyes were distinctly not looking at her own but instead something lower on her body.

"I won't make a habit of it." The smirk he had previously adopted faltered for a second before readorning his face. "If you'd excuse me I'm busy." She stepped to his side and continued down the hall a few feet before he caught up and worked his way in front of her.

"Hey you're the one who ran into me, I believe I need compensation to make up for it." His eyes still didn't meet Aless'.

"I doubt I have anything you would want." She made to move past him again but he side stepped, moving himself back into her path.

"How about your scroll number?" He set a hand down onto her shoulder, stopping her from moving again.

Years of instincts and training beat into her kicked in before she could think and her hand was up and grabbing his. She gripped his hand and prepared to tear it from her and break it, and she would have if two people hadn't interrupted at the last second sparing the man's hand.

"There you are!" Velvet winced at the realization of how loud she had just been and promptly shrunk behind Yatsuhashi.

Aless relaxed her hand and the man standing in front of her removed it and took a step back.

"Good morning Miss West." Yatsuhashi gave a pleasant nod and placed himself in between her and the man she had been talking to a second ago, who noticed and sent a glare towards the larger man. Yatsuhashi paid him no mind however. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything." He kept his eyes focused on Aless.

"Well actually y-" The man behind from before started before Aless interrupted.

"Not at all." She spared a glace to Velvet before quickly looking back to the larger man.

"Actually, we were talking." The man behind Yats spoke up, stepping out from behind him and towards Aless.

"Weren't we done?" Aless asked in confusion. She was fairly certain the matter had been resolved. She had apologized for running into him and… what was he asking for? Her scroll number or something? She failed to see the connection between the two events.

 _Maybe it's a planetary custom?_

Yats stepped behind Aless and out of her view as the man made to speak. He stopped with his mouth partially open and stammered for a second before Yats spoke up.

"Since you're done, I'm sure you don't mind letting us speak to her." Aless though for a second that it sounded like Yats had taken a sterner voice than he usually used, but wrote it off as being early in the morning.

"O-of course, have a nice day." The man spared a second to send a nod in Aless' direction before walking away.

 _What was that about?_

Aless turned around and looked up to Yats, raising an eyebrow in confusion but received only a soft shrug in response.

"You're welcome." Velvet gave a polite smile that Aless tried to return.

"For what?" Her attempted smile gave way to a look of confusion as she tried to understand what she had to be thankful for.

"For.. um.. well, y-you know, getting rid of him." Velvet took a second to let Aless' still confused face process. "You didn't even notice did you?"

"Notice what?" Aless spared a look in the direction of the man before looking back in Velvet's direction.

She let out a sigh and brought a hand to her face, mumbling something about cluelessness. "Never mind, Where have you been?" She took a step towards Aless. "We were looking for you."

Aless looked at Velvet, putting aside how confused she felt. "And why would you have been doing that?"

Velvet spared a glance to Yats letting him take over. "We were concerned about you."

Aless turned around and began to walk in the direction of Ports classroom.

"You looked hurt." Aless stopped in her tracks. Those words sounded familiar, she knew she had heard them from someone else… she just couldn't remember who had been the person to say them nor why they seemed important.

"You looked scared and… we wanted to help." Velvet took her moment of pause to continue and close the distance between the two groups.

Aless was silent for a moment before realizing they were waiting for her to speak. "You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine by myself." She continued down the hallway being followed by the two members of team CFVY.

 _So we're lying now?  
_

As much as she wanted to be alone, as much as she wanted to distance herself from them, she couldn't find any displeasure with their company.

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Romans Hideout_

The night had been a long one up to the point when Roman did… something. Jax was still rather uncertain about what he did and the words he used. In truth he was barely conscious, more of a vivid dream than anything else.

The only proof he had that something happened was the word of those around him and fresh set of scars spread across his chest where the armour used to be.

After Roman said his little incantation he couldn't remember anything else. When he woke was still in Hinto's office, laying on some kind of medical bed. The room was mostly empty but for one person sitting in a chair along the wall.

Neo looked to have fallen asleep in the rather strange position. Jax sat up in the bed, moving his legs to the edge standing up. He had expected some pain or a feeling of weakness at least, but he felt fine. He stretched his muscles, something felt different however. He couldn't pin the feeling but he felt... amazing.

 _Might be because of Hinto's semblance?_

He put the feeling aside as he became aware of a more pressing immediate problem, he was naked. He wasn't sure who had taken his clothes off, though he could understand why. He saw the remnants of his armour and the undersuit he had been using sitting in the corner.

What could be salvaged he would use later but that did very little for his current problem. He pulled the blanket from the bed and used that for the moment.

When he turned back around to the rest of the room he noticed a pair of mismatched eyes looking distinctly lower than his face.

Neo had apparently woken up and stood from her chair. She held up a bag pulling out a pair of jeans and handed them over to him.

He stood there staring at the pants for a moment waiting for her to leave. He looked up to her and then to the door. She rolled her eyes but left the room and Jax to get dressed.

* * *

 **Authors note: Alright that one's done…finally.**

 **I think this chapter is... moderate. It has some good stuff and leaves me some openings to continue forward with story plots and what not. Just gotta get it typed...easier said than done.**

 **I have actually been editing a story by Kmph2001. It's a Halo RWBY crossover that actually gave me some inspiration to write this story. It's a really good story and I recommend looking it up, It's a lot farther than mine and has a lot more chapters and content.**

 **That drinking game that Davis and Roman played is actually ripped from Game of Thrones. I'm sure it already existed in real life but that's where I found it, I needed some filler and some extra plug in points so...drinking games.**

 **As always thank you for your time and a big thanks to my editors for their help and I encourage you all to review and criticize my work so I can improve it.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	9. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL READERS MUST READ NOTE.**

 **Chapters 3-8 have been edited and rewritten to remove certain elements of the story that were not working and were causing problems. The following things have been changed.**

 **Aless, Ben, Jax, and the UNSC marines are NO LONGER teenagers. They retained their age and far more of their physical capabilities from their parent universe than was originally written.**

 **The dialogue has been altered to fit more in character with who they are as a person. This ranges from the actual words uttered to the person's own internal thought process.**

 **Jax has been given slightly more reason to follow Roman than before. It wasn't altered heavily but it should make a little more sense why he does work with Roman and Neo.**

 **The armour and weapons from the Halo-verse are not as weakened or nerfed as they were, though they are still not as powerful as they are in the actual Halo lore.**

 **Aless is no longer a faunus, all references to this should be pulled and no longer in the story.**

 **If you started this story before this chapter was uploaded then I HIGHLY recommend you go back and reread ch 3-8 to get a proper sense of what is going on with the characters and their dialogue, though so long as you keep the above in mind then you should be fine.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Professor Port's classroom_

Aless heard a very audible thud from half the class as their heads hit the table in front of them and Port began to talk about some story of his youth. She didn't fail to miss the follow up groan from the leader of team CFVY.

Aless tried to focus on the story the eccentric professor was telling but her mind began to wander. Her eyes drifted to the faunus sitting to her right. The day before had been… interesting and stretched on feeling more like a month than twenty-four hours.

After Velvet had seen Aless' uncharacteristic outburst in the hallway, she had fully expected her to distance herself, but Velvet had done the opposite. Since Velvet and Yatsu found her in the hallways the day before they had kept a close proximity whenever possible.

Aless wanted to say it was annoying, she wanted to say that it was just because Ozpin had asked them to, but it warmed her heart just a little and she appreciated the company.

As Aless thought about the previous day her thoughts strayed to the dream once more. It hadn't happened again the next night but it still bothered her. Her mind drifted once more to the person the dream had been about; Ben.

She hadn't worked up the courage to see him the whole day after the dream and she was ashamed by that fact. She couldn't understand why her dream had such a heavy effect on her. She had had similar dreams before, she had seen Ben hurt in the field and layed out of action plenty of times but it had never been something that kept her awake at night.

The thought dawned on her that this was the first time he might not survive. For all his recklessness and danger he had never been hurt enough to die. The worst that had happened would be the occasional concern from a doctor before Ben would insist he was fine. He always said that the doctors only had theories and that they 'underestimate his power'.

Aless felt a soft nudge on her arm, drawing her out of her thoughts. She looked up and noticed that most of the class had already left, along with the male part of team CFVY. Velvet had been the one to nudge her while Coco waited by the door.

Aless rose from her seat and gathered her things before heading out the door with the two.

"Aless, you got some time to burn?" Something about the tone in Coco's voice made Aless shudder slightly.

"That was the last class for the day, so yes." Aless was still amazed at how fast the days could go by, or how slow they would crawl depending on how occupied she was.

"Well, we were all going to get together and go over our essays for Oobleck's, wanna get in on this rousing fun?" Coco's voice sounded dead by the end of the sentence.

"I already turned it in, can't really correct it now can I?" Aless wasn't sure how good her paper had been, she didn't know very much about the planet's history, and that made for a lot of trouble when writing a history paper about it.

"Well you could still help us. I-If you want." Velvet spoke up quietly from beside Coco.

Aless thought about it for a moment. "I have an errand to run first… but once that's done I'll meet up with you guys."

"We'll be in the library." The group parted ways.

* * *

 _James Ironwood  
_ _General Ironwood's office_

"Commander Steele, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Ironwood kept his office orderly and lacking of most anything not labeled essential.

"I asked for a meeting with you yesterday." The Commander did his best to appear unagitated but was falling miserably.

"I had several very important meetings yesterday and you _are_ here now. I recommend you get to the point, and do remember who you're talking to." In truth the General cared very little if the man was displeased.

The Commander took a second to compose himself before speaking. "Two days ago, at approximately 0300 hours, we received a heavily corrupted and encrypted signal from somewhere deep in the grimmlands." The man handed a pad over to the General, who took it and examined the map closely.

"And what was this signal?" The General set the pad down on his desk and looked up to the Commander once more.

"We managed to isolate this excerpt from the static." Steele pulled up another data pad and began the looping audio of the few scrambled words they had.

" _United Nations Space Command- zzfzfz... -ontainment protocol in eff- zzfzfzfz…"_ The recording looped once more before the Commander shut it off.

"We were able to isolate that before the signal strength diminished or failed altogether." The General did not fail to notice the smug smile that spread across the Commanders face as Ironwood gave him his full attention. "I would like to lead an expeditionary force out to secur-"

"Denied." The General could admit to a small fraction of pleasure as the officers smile flipped into a frown.

"But it was my men that found the so-" The man didn't get to far before the General cut him off again.

"And the U.N.S.C is an ongoing investigation, and you are not the person in charge of said investigation." The Generals face fell into a stern glare. "Are you?"

"No sir." The Commander took a step back from the General's desk.

"You will, however, be going on the case. You won't be leading it." The General was quick to add before the man could speak. "Specialists Schnee and Autumn will be leading the investigation, and you will be permitted to tag along. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Prepare any of the men you'll need, along with whatever resources you require. This mission is to be kept on a need to know basis. The date and time of your departure will be sent to you via scroll, that will be all." Ironwood waited for the Commander to leave before picking up the pad and taking another look at the location on the map.

The specific region was international territory technically, though that was mostly a fancy way of saying the Grimm controlled it. The location was an isolated island just off the shore of Sanus, a mountainous region with no established settlements or known inhabitants, aside from wildlife and the Grimm.

Ironwood pulled up the recording from earlier and began to once again loop it. He pulled up his scroll and accessed Specialist Schnee's contact information. He held the device in front of him as he waited for the call to connect and, after a few more rings, Winter picked up.

"Sir." The women on the other side rigidly saluted and waited for further directions.

"Relax Winter." He paused and waited for her to pull her arm down before continuing. "A rather critical mission has suddenly come up, how soon can you and Autumn be back in Atlas?"

The specialist looked over her shoulder at someone off screen before speaking. "The soonest we could complete our current assignment would be Tuesday sir."

"We have new information on the UNSC." Winter's eyes opened slightly wider for a moment before returning to normal.

There was a quite mumble from off the screen before she spoke however. "We will be in Atlas by Monday."

"We'll discuss the details further in person. Good hunting Specialist." Winter saluted before the line went dead and the General put the scroll back on the desk in front of him.

* * *

 _Roman Torchwick  
_ _Roman's Hideout_

Roman watched as the small multi-colored girl kicked the far larger man off of his feet once more, thus causing him to smash into the ground on his back. Though to his credit he was smart enough to roll the second after he hit the ground, enabling him to dodge the girl's follow up kick into what would have been his gut.

As Jax rolled he did a small flip to land back on his feet and pulled back to try and regain his bearings, and much like the last time he had tried, Neo refused to let him.

Roman was impressed with Jax's handling with the girl, he wasn't doing bad for some soldier boy. He was maybe a little more skilled than Neo was when it came to hand to hand technique but he wasn't able to match her when it came to sword skills or speed, Roman kept her around for a reason after all, but he was able to offset his skill deficiency with the clever use of overwhelming strength.

The fights had still been ending in Neo's favour the majority of the time, but for someone without training to use his aura properly or any real training with a sword he was doing quite well.

Roman heard another hard smash as yet again Neo threw Jax onto the ground with a well timed twist. This time however she didn't pressure him and he didn't immediately rise, Roman decided to intervene.

"Looks like you broke him." Roman was joined by Davis as they approached Neo, who was helping Jax to his feet.

The two men were about half way when Jax swept a leg under Neo and pushed her over with a hand to her chest. He stopped her from hitting the ground by grabbing ahold of her ankle and held her slightly higher than his head.

The two looked at each other for a moment before the upside down one let a smile spread across her face and gave the man holding her a thumbs up. She pulled herself up into a partial curl as Jax let go and she through her feet back under her.

"Well wasn't that just… cheap…" Roman didn't flinch at the glare from Jax nor the glare from Neo. "She still wins though."

"Oh, you almost sound hurt Roman, afraid that our Spartan could beat your hired goon?" The soldier Roman kept forgetting existed spoke from the table they had all been observing the fight from.

"What's your name again?" Roman looked over his shoulder slightly.

"Kevin Le-"

"Shut up Kevin." Roman turned back to the two standing before him. "She would have killed you in a real fight."

"In a real fight Jax would have started with his sword out, or at least had his gun." Davis was quick to come to the defense of his lacky.

"In a real fight I'd 'a put one 'n 'er 'ead from a mile away." The gibberish girl had also decided to give her input.

"If any of you would like to spar with her, by all means." Roman waited a moment in silence. "That's what I thought."

The two combatants left for the bathrooms and the small crowd that had gathered dispersed, leaving Roman and Davis alone.

"Jax is slower than he was… or at least the typical Spartan back home." Davis kept his eyes on where said man had left.

"He'll be faster once he knows how to use his aura properly, as well as a bit stronger, though he is already pretty ridiculous in that category." Roman pulled out a cigar from his coat. "You should look into having you own aura unlocked, as well as those under your fine leadership."

Davis sent a brief glare his way before speaking. "I thought about that, even talked to Liz about it. She said something along the lines of it being a miracle or something."

There was a sharp buzzing sound as Davis pulled out his scroll and a still photo of the fake lady was portrayed on the screen. "What I said was that it was a miracle it worked for him, and that might have been because his Spartan nature."

"How did she know what we were talking about?" Roman interrupted her for a moment before she continued without answering the question.

"It has just as good a chance of killing the rest of you as unlocking your auras." The line was silent for a moment more. "And I always know what you're talking about… well so long as you're near one of the crew's scrolls. I patched in some software that lets me listen in."

Roman stopped for a moment. "Only on their scrolls, right?"

"... Enjoy the rest of your day you two." The line cut out as Davis looked at his scroll for a moment.

"Did you know she did that?" Roman looked back and forth from the scroll to Davis' face.

"No… no I did not." The man's head shook softly as they stood there in silence.

"I'm gonna... go buy a new one." Roman turned and left in the direction of the Bullheads.

"Pick me up one while you're at it please." Davis turned slightly in Romans direction.

"Add it to the grocery list… wait screw that, she's your fake person you deal with her." Roman flicked his cigar over his shoulder back in the direction he had come from.

 _Wonder if her software abilities would be useful to a certain someone?_

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Library_

Aless had wanted to go check on Ben, to see with her own eyes that he was alive and well, but she couldn't bring herself to it. When she thought about him she thought about the things he had said, at least in the dream. She appreciated the constant interaction from team CFVY preventing her from delving too deeply into her own thought process.

Once again Coco's words interrupted her, drawing her back to reality."-ide from that, we could probably do something a bit more active." Coco turned to her directly. "What do you think?"

Aless stared at the girl for a moment before Coco let out a sigh. "What do you think would be a good idea to do this weekend?" Her voice no longer held annoyance at Aless' lack of attention but a more defeated tone. "Stop zoning out, damn it." The last part had been whispered quietly enough to go unnoticed by the male half of team CFVY but neither Aless nor Velvet missed it.

She gave the question a moment of thought before responding. "I don't see why I'm going."

"You're going." Coco didn't look up from her scroll but the insistence and matter of a fact tone in her voice irritated Aless. "What do you do for fun?"

Aless took another moment to think. "Train, study… maintenance."

"I said fun." This time Coco did look up from her device, only to glare at Aless over the rim of her sunglasses.

"What do you and Ben do together?" Velvet spoke softly from beside Coco.

"...Train, study… maintenance" Aless winced slightly as Coco's head hit the table they sat at.

"Surely the two of you do activities together other than that?" Yatsuhashi said

Aless thought back to their time on the Infinity. "He drinks and I carry him back… that's an activity we do together… technically" She winced again as Velvet's face hit the table as well. "Well… I guess there is kinda sorta something we do." Aless brought a hand up to the back of her neck.

"I swear to the gods, if you say train one more time…" Coco left the muffled threat open for interpretation.

"I have this storage device I keep with me, it's got some movies and a few games on it and what not." Aless couldn't help but fidget under the eyes of the people arranged around the table.

"You play video games?" Velvet was the first to speak.

"And watch movies… Is that not acceptable here?" Aless still wasn't certain about the customs of the planet, hell for all she knew video games could have been outlawed… her opinion of the planet dropped a little at the thought.

"No, or yes, I mean yes they are acceptable" Velvet lowered her head a little and retreated back in her chair, fidgeting with one of her ears while she was at it.

"You don't really seem like the type." Fox had been the one to break the slightly awkward silence.

"And what should I look like?" Both Fox and Aless were startled by the sharp edge to her statement. "I mean, um…"

Coco was the first to jump to her rescue. "Doesn't matter, we can work with this!" She pulled up her scroll and typed something in as quick as her fingers would let her. "There's a number of movies playing this weekend that look pretty good."

"I know of a nice book store near the main mall." Yatsuhashi had once again joined the conversation.

"Do they have a good selection?" Aless shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Yes! She's on board." Coco hit the table softly.

Aless thought about arguing further, about trying to get out of the event, but she didn't see much reason. She was gonna spend the weekend in Vale, by the will of Coco, so she figured she should try and enjoy it.

"So what are you gonna wear?" Everyone at the table froze, none certain who exactly Coco was talking to and none willing to run the risk of attracting her attention to them. "If you try to wear that armour again I sw-" The rest of Coco's threat was covered up by the sigh from the rest of her team having the verification of safety.

"Well… I-um… I thought I'd wear some… pants?" Aless winced slightly under Coco's gaze. "And a… uh… shirt?"

Coco sighed quietly. "You're going to wear pants and a shirt…" She let out another sigh and rose from the table. "Come on, we have to pick you out an outfit or two. It's easier to stay out in Vale then to come back to Beacon."

Aless looked to the rest of team CFVY, all of whom failed to notice her panicked eyes, they were all too busy looking at the floor or a suddenly very interesting book. Aless would remember this betrayal.

Coco took the most direct path back to Aless' room, avoiding all students and obstacles in her way. By the time they arrived Aless was already hating what they were doing, and they hadn't even started yet.

"Where did you put those clothes we got the other day?" Aless gestured to the dresser on the far wall and waited for Coco to look through them. "I don't think you were to far off with your assessment, as vague as it was. Some jeans," Coco tossed a pair of pants at her. " Hmm, what else?" She was more mumbling to herself than to Aless. "It would have to be long sleeved to cover up your arm scars."

Aless couldn't help but look down to the many cuts and burns running across her forearms. She brought a hand up and shifted her stance to cover some of the more noticeable scars from view.

"Hmm, that shirt looks smart enough. Go put these on." Coco handed Aless some kind of dress shirt and ushered her into the bathroom.

After closer inspection the shirt was revealed to be a female variant of a dress shirt, meant to be more form fitting and more built for the female body. She pulled off the school uniform and got dressed in the far more casual wear.

In truth Aless couldn't tell how it looked. The shirt being so white seemed to mess with her already pale skin. The shirt felt too short as the scars from earlier poked out from under the cuffs from time to time. The jeans felt too tight and restricted her movement and also had the negative effect of not allowing her to hide any weapons on her body. Worst of all it left her feeling exposed.

She kept her way out of the bathroom with small blush on her face and one arm over her abdomen. Coco looked at her with an expert eye, moving up and down her form looking for any flaws.

"Relax, you look great!" Aless' face got even redder with the praise.

"Isn't this a guy's shirt?" Aless couldn't remember Coco buying it, though in truth she barely remembered any of the finer details of their trip, attempting to suppress the trauma of the event.

"No, it's a blouse, now stop complaining." Coco kept moving her eyes over her body.

By all measurable amounts Aless was simply out of her depth. She never wore anything like this, she never wore something because it looked good and she was not used to praise for simply wearing something.

"You need to stand up a little straighter though, put on a little more confidence." Coco grabbed Aless' arm and put it back to its side.

"I'm not used to this." Aless voiced her internal concerns.

"It's perfectly normal to have someone help you pick out an outfit." Coco waved off the thought with a hand gesture.

"I'm not used to being so exposed, at least with the school uniform I can still carry a weapon concealed… Maybe I should just go in my armour." Aless moved to grab the armour off of the table she had left it before Coco grabbed her arm.

"You can't just stay in your literal shell all the time." She let go of Aless' arm. "When was the last time you weren't wearing that thing?"

"I was just in the school's uniform." Aless turned to face Coco, no longer moving for her armour.

"You're required to wear that, what else?" Coco shifted her stance, putting one hand on her hip.

"...My undersuit?" Coco stared at her in silence.

"We're gonna pick you up some more stuff while we're in town." Aless' hopes for an acceptable weekend died in that moment.

"I can't afford to buy any clothes."

Coco ignored her pulling up her scroll and typing in a quick message. "Just checking to see if the others are ready, if so we can head down right now."

Aless picked up a belt and prepared to put it on before she was hit in the side by another object.

"I like the idea but that one's color works way better with your shirt than the one you were gonna use." Coco gave her a thumbs up.

"It's not meant to look good." Aless pulled a bag out from under her bed, withdrawing a pistol and its holster before sliding the bag back under her mattress.

"I don't like it, clashes with the color scheme." Coco pulled her sunglasses down her nose slightly. "You wont need that you know?"

"You might not, but I don't have an Aura, so I'll take what protection I can get." Aless strapped the holster to her belt and deposited the pistol there, along with a few other magazines in the holster's side pocket.

Coco gestured to the door. "You ready?"

Aless grabbed her scroll and nodded and the two left, heading in the direction of the Bullhead docks. Coco lead the way through the halls, being the one who knew the layout a little better. The two met up with the rest of Coco's tema who had already secured a Bullhead down to Vale.

"Let's get this over with." Aless moved to bored the transport, something welling up inside her, though she failed to tell if it was fear of a shopping trip or something else.

"Stop making it sound like an execution! It's not that bad." Coco was the second person to board the Bullhead swiftly followed by the rest of her team. "Fine! We won't go shopping." Coco failed to notice how most of the people in the vehicle all sighed in relief.

The flight over to Vale was longer than it should have been, at least according to the pilot; in truth Aless hardly noticed. She couldn't help but look at the rest of the night with trepidation. She hadn't ever really done a night on the town with anyone, not even Ben. Though the latter could be explained by the fact the two spent most their time on a spaceship. Something felt wrong and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I know a nice place that has some reasonably cheap rooms." Coco stood as the Bullhead set down on the landing pad. "Should just be a few blocks away."

"Why are you getting rooms in Vale, Beacon is open over the weekend isn't it?" Aless failed to see the use of getting a room when you had free ones a Bullhead away.

"The rooms are cheap and closer than Beacon, beside it's not healthy to stay at the school all the time." Coco counted off the points on her fingers. "You really need to get out more, plus it'll be nice for us to interact anything other than a school setting." Aless sighed and conceded the point, mumbling about inefficiency and a waste of resources.

The group disembarked the Bullhead and followed Coco's lead to the hotel they would be spending the weekend at. While the walk was short, Aless couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the occasional double take passers by would send her. Her training letting her know when people's eyes lingered to long.

Her hand fell to the pistol on her belt and the looks stopped, it was a refreshing feeling. Safe.

The hotel Coco spoke of was a bit nicer than what Aless had imagined, a large multi-storied building built fairly recently. Old training kicked in as she assessed the building's layout.

 _A nice canopy out front. I like the look of the pillars, though the large glass windows offer nothing to stop any bullets in case of a firefight, no guards, nobody near the door to block it off._ Aless slumped slightly when she realized where her thoughts had turned to. _This is a civilian building, not a military base or academy, of course it wouldn't be designed for combat._

Coco checked in for the group, offering to pay for the group but only ending up paying for Velvet and Aless, Yats and Fox had enough for their own rooms.

The group split up to go find their rooms, the two males having a different room while the girls had their own. The room wasn't too hard to find, even if all the doors looked the same. Coco used the key card to open the door and assess the room.

"Set your stuff down on one of the beds and let's get back down to the lobby." Coco took the bed closest the door and the other two slowly made their way to their own beds.

Personally Aless found the mattress to be even less comfortable than the one at Beacon.

 _Too soft._

She set the small bag containing a change of clothes on her bed and followed Coco back out the door. The group met back up and began to plan their events for the day.

"So we have a few hours before the reservations at the restaurant are any good." Coco pulled out her scroll to check the time.

"When did you get reservations?" Fox's surprised face said he had also not been informed about the idea.

"So what are we gonna do until then? There is a bowling alley down on the other side of town, a movie theater near here though it might be a little late to grab tickets." Coco listed off a few ideas then waited in silence for someone to answer.

"I'm down for bowling," Fox was the first to answer.

"That does sound kinda fun." Velvet followed his statement with her own choice.

Yatsuhashi nodded in conformation and the group looked to Aless.

"Yeah, bowling… I don't know what that is." Aless really didn't have a preference when it came to what they did, she was just being dragged along anyways right?

"Bowling it is, follow me." Coco again lead the way.

This time the walk was far longer, by the time they got to the alley it was already starting to get dark. The group walked up to the counter and got themselves a lane and each of them got a pair of stiff, uncomfortable shoes.

Coco was the first to go, the loud sound of the ball smashing into the pins before the machine reset and put the ones that had still been standing back in their original places.

"That's all there is to it, simple. You're up Robo Girl." Coco handed Aless a rather light ball and gestured to the lane.

"I don't understand the objective here." Aless looked over her shoulder at the girl.

"Just knock as many down as possible and that's how many points you get." Coco turned her back to Aless and walked over to the bench the group had to sit at.

"You get two tries to knock all the pins down, if you do you get a few extra points." Velvet added a little more detail.

 _Knock them all down? That's really all there is to it?_

"It's her first time, she should just focus on actually hitting th-" Coco was cut off at the sound of the ball smashing into the pins and all being knocked over.

Aless scratched the back of her neck. "That's really all there is to it?"

"Beginner's luck." Coco stated matter of a factly as Aless walked by her to let Velvet take her turn.

It had not been beginner's luck, whatever that was. By the end of the game Aless had managed to draw a small crowd who gawked whenever she hit the pins. She failed to see how that was at all entertaining to watch.

As the group finished and left, Aless still wasn't sure if she had actually done anything… productive. All she had done was hit a few pins with a ball, she didn't even know if she did well.

"So… was that how you bowl?" Aless watched as Coco's eyebrows shot up.

"You finished with two-seventy." Coco said it like those numbers meant something, which they did not.

"Is that good?"

"Out of a possible three-hundred? Yeah, that's pretty good." Fox was the one to finally put it all into scale.

Regardless of how well she did at the game, or how entertaining it was, something still felt off and wrong with the evening.

A moment of silence stretched on as the group followed Coco down the street to some kind of restaurant. "Ok, our reservations are all set so this should be quick."

The group were led to a large table off to the side of the room and left with menus to decide what they wanted to eat. It was at this moment, as team CFVY talked amongst themselves that Aless was finally able to figure out why she had felt so wrong all evening.

"The fried steak is pretty good here." Coco leaned over to Aless and gestured to the item on the menu before returning to her own. Aless failed to register her comment because she was to distracted with her own thoughts.

Aless had the feeling she was intruding, this was _their_ evening and she wasn't a member of their team. She was fairly certain that Ozpin had also asked the group to watch her… and in that moment it all clicked together.

The reason she had been invited on the outing, the real reason, had been to watch her and gather information or at the very least keep an eye on her. In that moment she no longer felt like she could relax, she was no longer among 'friends' but spies, her guard was back up and she was in full assessment mode. She spent a moment to make sure no one around her had any weapons, aside from the occasional steak knife it was clear.

Aless did a quick check of the building to identify all the available exits and find the fastest route out of the building should the case arise. Her sudden on edge nature didn't go unnoticed however.

"What's got you so spooked girl?" Coco took a moment to let the joke set in but once it was clear it failed to lighten the mood she adopted a slightly more serious expression and tone. "What's up?"

"I-um... I have to go." Aless rose from her chair and turned towards the door. From what she could hear someone else rose from the table a moment after and followed her out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Aless! Wait, where are you going?" Coco sped up to a slow run to catch up to the fleeing Spartan.

"I am heading back to Beacon." Aless didn't stop to wait for Coco.

"Why?" A simple word with an equally simple explanation.

"I don't belong here." It pained her slightly to say it but it was the truth, she didn't belong in some nice restaurant in the middle of an equally nice city surrounded by kind people putting up with her because they were ordered to.

"What does that mean?" Coco had managed to almost catch up to her but was still lagging behind slightly.

"I'm not a member of your team, I shouldn't be here." In a single moment Coco went from slightly behind her to pushing up against Aless' chest to stop her. Had she wanted to she could have easily pushed through or toppled the younger girl over, but she decided to wait for her to move herself.

"You are a part of this team, hell you and Ben practically _made_ this team. Who knows what would have happened if we wouldn't have gone with you to that crash." Aless had finally had enough and made to walk past the girl before she shoved her back.

In one swift motion mostly driven by reflex and training Aless had unlatched her pistol's securing strap and had begun to pull it out. It was only after she saw Coco's eyes bulge slightly that she realized it wasn't an attack and she relaxed slightly, leaving the pistol in its rightful place at her side.

A moment of silence fell over the two as the tension slowly faded. "I wanted us all to get to know each other more." Coco's voice was far less confident than her usual tone, slightly shaken by Aless' reaction. "I wanted _you_ to get to know us. You don't talk, hell, you don't even engage in conversations unless addressed. I thought this would help make you a little more comfortable around us." Coco regained some confidence in her voice as she spoke. "Then maybe we could have been friends."

Aless felt awful. She still wasn't sure if they had been asked to watch her or not but Coco sounded sincere in her statement. She sounded slightly hurt that Aless had been so willing to just leave and abandon the evening all together.

"I won't force you to stay though, if you don't want anything to do with this then you can leave if you want." Coco stepped pass her back in the direction of the restaurants entrance.

"I'm sorry." Aless heard Coco stop. "I… I reacted poorly, I'm sorry."

"You got nothin' to apologize for Robo girl." Coco was back to her usually tone, though her posture still seemed to be a little more rigid, more forced, than her usual self. "Come on, the others are waiting, probably wondering where we ran off to."

Coco walked back to the restaurant and after a moment more of silence Aless followed. After that moment of confrontation the feeling of intrusion and suspicion, while not gone, was lessened. She didn't trust herself to fully relax but she was able to enjoy the rest of the evening as well as the food.

It was after they had eaten and during one of Yatsuhashi's stories that Aless' scroll buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, still mostly paying attention to Yats' story, as she checked to see who was calling. She was somewhat surprised when she saw the Headmaster's scroll number pop up on the display. She answered and excused herself from the table for a moment.

"Headmaster." She waited for the man to speak for what felt like an abnormally long length.

" _Your partner is awake."_

* * *

 **Authors Note: Ok, I would like to start this with an apology. It has been over a month since the last chapter was uploaded, I have a reason but that is still a really long time to wait, sorry.**

 **My reasons are that I did a rewrite of ch3-8 as well as started work on a small little project. I decided a rewrite was in order to fix some of the common complaints, such as the age changes as well as the faunus addition for Aless, after talking to some of my editors and another author kpmh2001 (he also has a halo RWBY fic I highly recommend). We talked for a bit and I decided that a rewrite was needed to fix the things I didn't like.**

 **If you reread the story and noticed something I missed, like the age change or the fanus thing for Aless, and they weren't removed let me know so I can fix it.**

 **As always thank you for your time and a big thanks to my editors for their help, I encourage you all to review and criticize my work so I can improve it.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Hey look, a second Ch within the same month.**

 **THE SEVENTH SEAL HATH BEEN BROKEN. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES.**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Restaurant in Vale_

Ozpin's face was unmoving over the video call, and Aless had to work to keep herself calm while she waited for the headmaster to continue. As the seconds continued on in silence dragged on however it became clear he was waiting for her to speak.

"How long ago?" Aless again struggled to keep herself professional, it would never do to have the headmaster think of her as anything less than a Spartan.

" _Mr. MacDavis woke up roughly ten minutes ago, according the the medical report at least."_ Ozpin was far more able to keep his feelings concealed, though whether that was due to his own intervention or just a lack of care Aless couldn't tell. His face revealed nothing of his thought process.

"What was his condition?" Aless was relieved Ben had woken up, that alone was a good sign, but she knew he wasn't out of the woods just yet.

" _A little surprised, there was an... incident…"_ The Headmaster didn't continue for a moment but in truth Aless wasn't surprised, Ben was a troublemaker through and through. " _He is fine, you might ask him about it when you speak with him."_

"I will sir, will that be all?" Aless was getting anxious, with the knowledge that Ben was awake she wanted to get back to Beacon as soon as possible. She had to see that he was ok with her own eyes.

" _Once you and Ben have had a chance to talk I would like to speak with you. Only if that is not an issue, of course."_ The request felt more like a command but Aless felt it was justified. In truth she would have agreed to just about anything so long as she got to end the call and get to Ben.

"That won't be a problem sir, will that be all?" Again Aless waited what felt like an eternity for the Headmaster to speak.

" _That will be all… for now. Enjoy the rest of your evening Miss West."_ The screen went black as the call ended and the feed disconnected.

Aless took a second to carefully put her scroll back in her pocket before walking back to the table where Team CFVY still sat.

Yats was still telling a story as Aless pushed in her chair, drawing the attention of Coco.

"What was the call about?" The girl seemed suspicious that Aless was trying to run, and in a sense Aless supposed she was right.

"Ben just woke up, I'm heading back to Beacon to see him." Aless rushed the words out and turned, preparing to leave before she stopped for a moment. "Thank you for the evening. It was... " Aless couldn't quite find the word to describe it. "Thank you but I have to-"

"Your friend's awake? What the hell are you still doing here? Go!" Coco gave a slight smile from behind her glasses and gave a gentle nod.

Aless didn't wait for anything else, by the time Coco had finished talking the Spartan was almost out of the restaurant's door. She ran out of the building as fast as she could, stopping only to look for a cab. She was disappointed to see that there were none but it was of little concern, the airship transport between Beacon and the rest of Vale was only about three miles away, not even a sweat for Aless.

She didn't fail to notice the crazy looks she received from people on the streets, she cared very little however, she had somewhere to be. She wouldn't ever admit it, not to anyone in the world, least of all herself, but she was concerned that by the time she got to Ben he would be gone again. Out of her grasp once more leaving her alone. She couldn't let that happen. She would smack him awake if she had to.

Aless got to the hub as fast as she could and quickly found herself a Bullhead to transport her back to Beacon. While the pilot was reluctant to make the trip for one passenger, he begrudgingly sat down in the cockpit and set off in the direction of the school.

Aless sat down patiently in the back, or at least she tried to. She knew there was nothing she could do to speed up the journey and that Ben would have to wait just a few more minutes, but it did little to calm her. She was anxious, with Ben awake she could actually go after the signal, actually relink up with the UNSC and get back to what she did best, being a soldier. She wouldn't tell Ben it but she was also looking forward to his jokes. While usually bad and unfunny it had felt strange without them. She wouldn't be alone much longer and the thought brought a large smile to her face.

The shuttle set down after what felt like an hour of flight, it didn't linger long after she departed but it didn't matter to her. Thankfully the halls of Beacon were mostly abandoned at the late hour and the path to the medical wing was clear of any obstructions.

Aless pushed the large doors leading to the main medical hall open with perhaps a little to much force and found her way to Ben's room. A nurse was standing outside of the room and ushered her in as quietly as possible to see her partner before leaving the two alone for a few minutes. Ben didn't seem to notice the doors soft click as it shut, he was occupied reading some kind of paperwork.

Aless had been excited to see Ben, there was a lot of things she wanted to say, to ask him about, but none of them came to mind. Instead she asked the only question that mattered.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Beacon Medical Wing_

"Ready for the next mission?" Ben's head shot up at the question as a smile came over his face. He knew Aless was on her way but he didn't expect her to get here so fast. He took a moment to look her over, he couldn't help but notice the clothes being civilian and not military garb, but as he looked up to her face it was the emotion in her eyes that hit him as the strangest addition; or rather that this emotion was aimed at him.

Aless eyed him up and down, checking him over with her eyes to make sure he was ok and that the doctor hadn't made any mistakes like leaving a limb off or something. It brought an even more genuine smile to his face.

"I'll be fine. Doc says I'll be good to leave soon, though I'll see if I can talk her into releasing me tonight." He knew his body and he had been out for a week, it had had plenty of time to heal. Besides, Aless would appreciate the company.

"You'll do no such thing!" Aless glared at him as he flinched at the words, or more likely, the volume. "You'll stay here as long as the doctor says you need to, we have a lot of work to do and you can't be wounded for it." Aless looked over her shoulder to make sure the door was closed and that they were truly alone. "We need to make contact with the UNSC."

"It's been a week and you haven't done it yourself yet, so I'm assuming there's a problem." Aless had never been one to wait, sure it helped to have reinforcements but you didn't need that for a simple message.

"The planet doesn't have anything that powerful, they don't even know about the UNSC Ben. This planet… it's like taking a step into the past, their tech is centuries behind ours, they don't even have a concept of space flight." Aless brought a hand to her face and sighed.

"That begs the question, how exactly are we supposed to get a message off world?"

"I have some coordinates for the wreckage of the Token, if we can get there then we should be able to get a message out to someone with a ship, hell there might even be a pelican or two still in one peice that would let us hop atmosphere." Aless pulled one of the chairs over to the side of the bed and sat down.

Ben groaned. "That sounds annoying, where is the wreckage of our fine ship?" He leaned back in the bed and closed his eyes.

"About two, maybe three hours away by air." Aless stopped for a second and Ben took the chance to groan in disapproval. "I'll talk to the Headmaster about letting us borrow one of the Bullheads."

Ben stared at her for a second waiting for an explanation that didn't seem to be coming. "Headmaster?" It seemed to dawn on Aless that he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, um, well… you were wounded and needed medical attention, the people who helped us with those Deathstalkers turned out to be students at Beacon Academy, the school sent out a Bullhead to pick them and us up, they took care of you and the Headmaster agreed to let us stay on school grounds until the UNSC shows up." Aless tried to make it all make sense but Ben couldn't follow.

"Ok." In the end he didn't try, he had more important concerns. "Were you able to retrieve anything from the crash?"

"Your weapons are back in our dorm." Aless caught his meaning immediately and Ben let out a sigh of relief. "You're gonna like Beacon, the weapons are certainly... interesting."

Ben relaxed on the bed for a moment before remembering an important question.

"Did any of the crewmen survive?" He had seen most of the men he had saved on the Pelican laying dead in the field but he never had a chance to check if they were truly dead, they might have merely been unconscious.

"No, the men at the crash didn't survive the encounter with the Deathstalkers." Aless took a moment to breathe before continuing. "I'm sorry Ben, if I had gotten there sooner then they might still be alive… I'm sorry." She ended with her voice no louder than a whisper.

Ben had to choke back a snicker. "You had just fallen from literal orbit, you should have been dead or at the very least out of the fight but no, you just had to go looking for something else to do." Ben made a point to look Aless in the eyes and waited until she returned the look before continuing. "It wasn't your fault Aless, there was nothing you could have done."

Aless didn't seem to believe him but she had common sense enough to not argue the point.

"Did you find any other survivors? The Token did have enough time to evacuate some people." Ben had had plenty of time to prep the Pelican and get people on board. The escape pods would have been even more convenient.

"That depends." Aless brought a hand to her face and sighed.

"Ok, on what?" It wasn't a very specific answer.

"On how far that Forerunner artifact sent us." Aless rubbed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Of course, of course… now let's just pretend, hypothetically of course, I have no clue what you mean by that." Ben was surprised by the genuine smile that came across Aless' face. He intended to ask what the joke was but she was quick to answer his question.

"We aren't in the same system, not the one with the Insurrectionist stronghold that is. That system only had one habitable world and it wasn't this nice." Aless looked towards the window and stood from her chair. "There's also this." She pulled back the blinds revealing a spectacular view of the night's sky and the forest below.

Ben waited for specifics that it seemed weren't coming. "Ok… the window?"

Aless sighed as her shoulders slumped slightly, though once again a smile spread across her face. "The moon is fractured into pieces."

"Oh yeah, hmm odd, you sure that wasn't in the last system?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure. The other planet didn't even have a moon." Aless looked back out the window and fell silent.

The silence dragged on it never becoming awkward instead staying comfortable. "So how was your week?"

She seemed to ponder the question for a moment before answering. "Educational."

"As a school tends to be…" Ben leaned back on the wall of pillows behind him, closing his eyes as he let himself relax.

The silence once again became comfortable, only breaking when Aless finally spoke again.

"Do you remember what you said to me at the crash, just after you had gotten hurt?" Ben sat back up to meet Aless' eyes but instead she just looked out the window.

"Nope, though if I started reading off my last will and testament th-"

"You asked me if I believed in destiny." Aless still kept her eyes on something outside the window.

"Huh, weird."

"What do you think your destiny is?" Ben was caught off guard by the surprisingly deep question.

"Oh I don't know, one to many bottles or not enough ammo I suppose." He chuckled slightly louder than necessary to make it clear he was joking.

"Really Ben, what do you think your destiny is?" Aless was insistent though.

"What's it matter Aless, I was loopy from blood loss or something, it doesn't really matter does it?"

Aless didn't say anything and Ben took a moment to think of an answer he didn't have. "I... I don't believe in destiny, I believe in Fate." He hoped the answer was vague enough to work.

Aless finally turned to look at him with confusion in her eyes. "What's the difference?"

"It doesn't matter, we have more important things to talk about. What have you been able to find out about the planet?"

Aless didn't seem pleased with his response but she put aside her displeasure. "The planet's environment is incredibly Earth like, it might be one of the closest I've ever seen. There are several deadly types of native life universally called Grimm that have dominance over most of the planet."

"Magical fucks." Ben kept his voice low.

"There are four kingdoms on the planet that have most of the population."

"Wait, kingdoms? I always wanted to date a princess." Aless ignored his incredibly insightful commentary and continued to speak.

"There are settlements outside the main cities, but they are spread out and don't have to much in the way of population."

"Why can't you indulge me?"

"The people of this world lost the knowledge of space travel, or at least the public did. There aren't even any mentions of Earth or the UNSC on any main database. I haven't had a chance to hack into any government computers yet bu-" Aless glanced to the door and froze.

"I must dissuade you from breaking any laws, at least while you're Beacon students and employees." A silver haired man walked through the doorway and stood next to the bed.

It took a moment but Aless finally spoke. "Uh, Ben, this is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin. Ozpin, this is my team member Benjamin MacDavis."

"It's a pleasure Benjamin, Aless has only had nice things to say about you." The headmaster extended one hand.

"What do you mean employees?" Ben skeptically took the other man's hand.

"It's a… technicality. You aren't under any contracts, I assure you that you can leave at any moment." He looked to Aless. "Your partner has already begun classes, though she insisted she not speak for you as well. It was imperative that you have a reason to stay at our school, otherwise we wouldn't have a reason to withhold your information from the council if they asked."

"What information would that be?" Aless eyed the headmaster with suspicion.

"That there is no information. You two don't actually exist, at least not in any records we have, and if the council found that out, let alone your allegiance to another government, they would detain you as soon as possible. You two being students allows me to deny them access to your files."

"I can understand that." Aless didn't seem to be willing to speak, so Ben decided to get a little information. "But why employ us?"

"You're only technically employed, just enough that you'll have access to Beacon funds to help in your search for your people. Though you'll have to fill out some paperwork of course, we can't just hand out money."

"And why would you be willing to give us access to your funds?" Ben was getting mildly annoyed with the Headmaster constant dodging of the question.

The Headmaster looked at him for a moment, or more accurately looked through him. "It took you seconds to dispatch two Deathstalkers, your weapons are quite powerful. Your explosives are of a higher quality than almost anything I've ever seen, your guns pack a harder punch, and that sword attached to the end of your gun… it just sliced through that Deathstalker like it wasn't there."

"So you want our weapons, not very selfless of you." Ben looked over to Aless for a moment before the Headmaster spoke again.

"We are losing, Benjamin." Ben looked back to the man with a little distaste in the use of his full name but he kept quite, waiting for the man to continue. "Humanity has been pushed back to the walls of our cities and the occasional lucky town. Humanity is staring extinction in the face, so you'll forgive me if I take every weapon I can get." The headmaster sighed. "You two showed up here without the knowledge of Grimm. I don't know if that is just because of a good location separated from the rest of the world, or if your people killed all the Grimm in the region. Either reason is not something I can ignore."

The room was silent for a moment and to Ben's surprise it was Aless who broke it. "The UNSC would be more than willing to help, we just have to get in touch with them and get them here."

"I look forward to it. I had been hoping to talk with Mr. MacDavis alone however, I hope that isn't a problem."

"Oh, um yeah, no problem at all." Aless moved to the door but stopped before going through, instead she turned slightly looking over her shoulder at Ben. "It's… It's good to have you back Ben." The door closed behind her with a soft click.

"A very nice girl, and not too bad of a fighter either. Is she typical where you come from?" The Headmaster sat in a chair along the farthest wall.

"Where we come from, we train soldiers above what most people are capable, even there she's above the norm." Ben couldn't tell if the Headmaster was displeased with that fact or not, his face was difficult to read enough but his eyes gave even less away. "What is it you wanted?"

The man seemed to ponder something for a moment before speaking up. "While you have been in our infirmary we did all we could to help you heal, and that included tests to check the full extent of the damages and any other possible health issues." Again the Headmaster stopped for a second before continuing. "Some of these test came back with a disturbing result."

Ben sighed. "You haven't told Aless, have you?"

"No, you, the doctor, and I, are the only ones who know anything is wrong. The doctor was quite surprised when she found out, a soldier with such a condition should have been at a hospital not in the field. I planned on telling her after I told you, she has a right to know."

Ben sighed once more. "I'll tell her in time, just not yet."

"Did you know about this before coming here, before going on your last mission?" The Headmaster's mouth twisted upwards ever so slightly.

"What can I say? They needed someone to crash the Pelican." Ben snickered at his own joke before closing his eyes.

"The doctor did find something rather peculiar that the test ignored." Ben looked up and waited for the Headmaster to continue, readying himself for whatever the man said. "The cancer itself has been rendered inert." He wasn't ready for that though.

"I don't… Inert?" _What the hell does that even mean?_

The man rose from his seat and took a few steps closer to Ben. "The test confirms it is a cancerous growth, a rather unique one at that, however it has stopped growing. The doctor doesn't know how just yet, but that doesn't really matter. The doctor wants to keep a close eye on you, just to be certain, but other than that it would seem you're fine."

Ben kept his face neutral, his eyes dull, even though he was overwhelmed by the information.

 _Inert… I… I'm gonna be fine, I don't have to leave._

"Thank you for the news Headmaster, I appreciate it. I would still like to keep this information from Aless however."

"I understand, I shall inform the doctor to keep quiet about it." The Headmaster moved to the door and ushered Aless. "The doctor said you are ok to leave today, so long as you take it easy and don't pressure yourself. We don't know what the results could be." The Headmaster looked Ben in the eyes with the last warning before leaving.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Medical Wing_

The Headmaster left and Aless turned to look at Ben. "Get dressed, you're coming back to the dorm room with me. I'm not arranging your stuff for you regardless of your injuries, so don't ask."

"It's late already, I might as well just stay here." Ben kept his eyes locked on the door.

"There's only one bed in here and I'm not sleeping in a chair, so get up and get dressed." She tossed Ben a male school uniform and turned her back.

Ben sighed and Aless could hear the rustling of blankets and bed sheets as he stood up.

"You could just sleep in the dorm room."

"And give you another chance to hurt yourself? No." Aless kept her face turned away from Ben. "I… I-um.." Aless treid to speak but instead she coughed into her hand to cover up the attempt.

Aless didn't want to go back to the room, not alone. She didn't want to let Ben out of her sights for an instant. She finally had him back and she wasn't going to let anything happen to him, she didn't want to be alone any longer, and thankfully she didn't have to be.

"These don't look half bad." Aless turned around to look at Ben.

"Eh, I think the person wearing them looks better." Aless stiffened slightly as she made the awkward sounding joke. She was trying to copy what she'd seen Coco do on occasion, she wanted to see Ben smile and figured that a joke would be the best way to do it.

Ben looked at her for a moment, no smile coming to his face, Aless figited under his gaze. "Did you just flirt with me?"

"What, n-no it was just a joke." Aless looked away towards the window, heat rising to her face.

"If being out for a week is all it took for you to start flirting then I should do it more often." Ben chuckled at the end of his sentence, only until he noticed Aless' glare aimed at him. "Oh calm down, I'm… I'm not going anywhere." A smile spread across his face, Aless couldn't recall a time she had seen him with such a bright smile. She couldn't recall a time she'd seen him genuinely happy.

 _This was what it would have looked like._

"Come on, I'll show you to our dorm." Aless walked over to the door holding it open for Ben, she couldn't help but notice the slight limp in the way he walked. "We should probably head to the cafeteria first, you need to eat."

Aless lead him down the corridors of Beacon, she kept her eyes on Ben however, making sure he hadn't fallen over, or wasn't struggling to move, or that he hadn't been taken out by an orbital MAC round.

 _He's fine, he's a Spartan. He'll be fine._ Aless had to constantly reminder herself that he wasn't going to shatter into pieces.

Aless couldn't help the smile that came to her face, nor the slight bounce in her step as they walked to the cafeteria, which was almost abandoned except for the cleaning crew and the cook behind the counter.

The two grabbed some food and sat down at a table in the back of the large room. Ben had questions Aless had to answer, things like where they were, what it was like, mission critical information. That's what he asked at first anyways.

"So, make any friends while I was away?" Ben finished the sandwich on his plate and looked to Aless. "What about that group that helped us out at the crash?"

"I've actual spent most of my time near or around them. To be fair our schedule lines up almost exactly."

"Sounds like friends to me." Aless wasn't amused by the patronizing sound of his voice, though it did little to anger her.

"It's been a week, we hardly know each other."

"You hardly know anyone, so the fact that you spent any real time with them makes them friends… at least by your standards." Ben rose from the table and moved to put his tray back on the counter.

"That doesn't sound fair. Why should I be held to a different standard?" Aless followed after him.

"Then get more friends." Ben stopped at the counter to wait for her before moving to the door.

"I have plenty of friends." Aless crossed her arms.

"Name some." Ben was quick to counter.

"Well there's you." Ben held up one finger. "There's Jax." He held up a second finger. "Roberts." Ben lowered one finger. "Hey! Thats cheating."

"He's a negative, lose one to your final count." Ben lowered his hand.

Aless sighed. "I suppose it doesn't really matter either way, they're dead." Ben nugged her side, putting another smile on his face, though this one seemed sadder, and let her take the lead

Ben and Aless didn't say much for the rest of the night aside from the occasional jab at the fact she had civilian clothes, but it was never awkward, it was never lonely.

The two called it a night and went to bed, Ben was asleep in an instant, Aless however sat awake for a few hours. She wanted to make sure Ben slept properly, without any nightmares. To her relief he seemed too exhausted for such things, and she soon found herself dozing off as well.

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Romans Hideout_

Jax always loved the stars, they were calm from a distance but the closer you got the more powerful they seemed, until you were looking at a massive ball of fire. He especially loved finding a secluded place to look at them, he appreciated the calm.

The silence was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass and heard a few heeled footsteps on the warehouse roof. Jax didn't need to look to see who it was, Neo's semblance made a unique enough sound, let alone the fact she was wearing heels on a roof.

The short girl sat next to him and looked up to the sky for a second before handing him a bowl of something. Jax looked down at the cold container filled with ice cream and a spoon, before he looked to to Neo and took the bowl.

The silence returned except for the occasional sound of spoons hitting bowls. When he had finished his he pondered heading back inside, but instead he decided to wait. He concluded the stars were beautiful enough and the company wasn't that bad, he intended to stay for a few more minutes, but that gradually became a few more hours.

Jax felt Neo lean against his side and he became even more reluctant to leave the rooftop. After a bit longer he noticed that her breathing seemed to deepen and her body leaned a little heavier on his side.

Jax looked down to the sleeping girl at his side. He reluctantly shook her awake before the two went back into the warehouse, they both went to the kitchen before going their separate ways.

By the time he got back to his room everyone else had gone to bed. The night had been pleasant, the stars had been nice but it was his unexpected company that made it truly enjoyable. He made a mental note to invite her up the next time he wanted to stargaze.

* * *

 **Authors note: Originally I planned on having them jump to the mission to find the Token, or at least prep to find the Token, but I decided to wait a day or two instead… sorry, I didn't want to rush the story and it just didn't fit into this chapter.**

 **As always big thanks to my editors for their help and I encourage you all to review and criticize my work so I can improve it.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Sincerely** **SE**


	11. Chapter 11

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I am changing my username from Castiel317 to SardnoicEffigy. Let me be clear, I will not be moving to a new account, I will be renaming this one.**

 **END OF IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

 **Authors Note: This is a less important note but I have decided to implement a new formating tool. Whenever you see this**

 **/-/**

 **that means there has been a time skip without a change in perspective of the character. Hopefully it won't be too confusing but know that if there is a change in perspective I will tell you in the sub header.**

 **Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 _James Ironwood  
_ _Atlas Intelligence Black Site_

Ironwood kept his stride measured and his posture stiff as he walked through the halls of a place that didn't exist, staffed by people who hadn't seen the light of day in months, and guarded by soldiers who had been labeled dead by their government.

Commander Steele led him through several checkpoints deeper and deeper into the facility, being certain to give him the rundown as they went through the facility. In tuth the General already knew the facility's layout as well as its history and various projects but he let the Commander refresh his memory nonetheless.

The tour came to an end as they approached a doorway that lead into the briefing room. The commander stepped aside and let him go through first. Waiting for them in the room were the two specialists that had been selected for the mission, Specialist Winter Schnee and Specialist Autumn.

The two snapped to attention and saluted once they noticed the General enter. "At ease, how was your mission?"

Winter gestured to a set of documents on the table. "Exceptionally well, the contact did in fact have the information. With it we should have insight to the White Fangs movements."

"Assuming they don't alter anything, they'll probably change their movements once they realize they've been compromised." Specialist Autumn took a step to the other side of the table. "If you wouldn't mind General, I believe there is something more important to attend to." His voice sounded tired and scratchy yet eager, his movements slightly sluggish. It occured to the General that neither him nor Winter had had any down time since their mission.

Ironwood nodded and gestured for the Commander to begin the briefing.

"Four days ago we received a signal from deep within the Grimmlands, some kind of distress signal if our analysis are correct. It mentioned the UNSC." The Commander paused to wait for questions but none came. "From our known sources the UNSC is a terro-"

"Continue with the report commander." The general was quick to interrupt the thought.

The officer seemed surprised for a moment but was quick to continue. "The location of the crash puts it firmly outside any kingdoms borders, an island off the coast of Sanus. From what we can tell there are no settlements in the area, but there has been little intelligence gathered due to environmental hazards."

"What kind of hazards?" Autumn spoke but kept his eyes locked on a map of the area.

"With the island located so close to the equator and the open ocean surrounding it rains storms are almost a constant, which makes Bullhead travel slightly tricky, not impossible just difficult. The terrain is also rather mountainous, couple that with the Grimm threat and no one has tried to survey the island."

The room fell silent for a moment as everyone in the room studied the map.

"You are excused, commander." Ironwood stepped past him towards the table.

"But thi-" The commander went to complain but was interrupted before he could continue.

"You are excused, commander."

"Yes sir." He saluted and left the room.

"Intelligence guys. Never like to follow the rules." Autumn watched the door to make sure he wasn't coming back. "What would you like us to do General?"

"You two will be going in after the signal. Find out where it is and what it's about, then report back for further orders. You're not to engage unless absolutely necessary."

"I'll gather my gear. Will we be going with a squad or will it be the two of us?" Autumn began to move to the door.

"The mission will be postponed for a day, you two need the rest." Ironwood knew the response the order would warrant but believed it was best they took some down time.

"Sir, I assure you we will be fine. We can not run the risk of losing this, it's been years since we heard anything about the UNSC and we-"

"I'm aware Autumn but you two have been on assignment for some time now, I don't want my two best agents working at anything less than their best. It's one day specialist."

"Yes sir." Autumn saluted and left the room, leaving Ironwood and Winter there alone.

"I don't mean to question your decision sir…" Winter paused to give him time to interrupt, when it was clear he didn't intend to she continued. "Is it wise to wait? Autumn was right, we don't know when the next opportunity may present itself."

"I appreciate your opinion in the matter, however you two need to relax if only for a day. Besides, there are some inquiries I have to make before we can confirm the validity of the mission." Ironwood turned form the table and began to head for the door.

"Inquiries about what, sir?"

"Nothing to be worried about, just an old friend looking for information."

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Headmasters Office_

Aless watched as the numbers flicked up on the elevator door as it began to rise. She had wanted to talk to the Headmaster about borrowing one of the Bullheads, to head north and find whatever was left of the Token. She wasn't sure of what his answer would be and that had left her nervous.

She had wanted to leave saturday, the day after Ben had woken up, but his injuries had kept them from going. Instead she had given Ben the weekend off to rest and to get up to speed, the result was leaving early on a monday.

The sun had yet to rise and Aless was already going about her day. Ben had grumbled about time dilation and had gone back to sleep, so the responsibility fell on her to arrange everything, not that she would have had Ben do it anyways.

The two had spent the weekend talking mostly, she had wanted to introduce Ben to team CFVY but they hadn't had the chance yet, sadly they wouldn't until after they got back from the Token.

The door slid open and Aless was met by the Headmaster with his back to her as he talked with Qrow, he glanced over his shoulder for a moment and gestured for Aless to join them. She made her way across the room and stopped on the students side of the desk.

She wasn't sure what the two of them were talking about but whatever it was they quickly ended the conversation and addressed her.

"I see you're back in your armour, are you planning on going somewhere?" Ozpin moved to his chair and sat while Qrow stepped off to the side of the room and leaned on the wall.

"I came to see if the academy would lend Ben and me a Bullhead."

"The school is more than able but I must ask what you intend to do with it." Ozpin didn't try to hide his suspicion.

"When I scavenged our Pelican I found coordinates for the wreckage of our ship, it's a few hours away by air but if we have to Ben and I can walk. We don't want to inconvenience the school."

"That won't be necessary, you'll get your Bullhead. I hope you wouldn't mind if I sent someone along to aid you." The Headmaster looked to the other man in the room. "Qrow is quite capable."

Aless held back her immediate reaction to complain about being sent with a watchdog and instead focused on the task at hand. "That won't be a problem, we would like to leave as soon as possible though. We need a few hours but then we should be ready." Aless rose from her chair and looked to Qrow. "We'll meet you at the docks as soon as the transport is ready. Thank you Headmaster."

* * *

 _Ozpin  
_ _Headmaster's office_

The elevator door closed behind the girl and Ozpin watched with mild curiosity as the numbers above the door ticked down, indicating the fact she was no longer on the other side. Aless truly was an interesting woman, if slightly hypocritical at times.

The room was silent for a few moments, neither of the men in the room willing to speak. It was during this moment of silence that Ozpin received a call.

The interface on his desk displayed a rather familiar name.

The screen fizzled for a moment while the call connected, the interference from a cross continental call being difficult even with the aid of the CCT.

"Ozpin." The face that greeted him once the video feed connected was a stern one with little in the way of emotion.

"General, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He hadn't been expecting the call and in truth it had come at a rather inconvenient time, but one did not simply reject a call from someone like the General.

"Is this call secure?" The general kept his face edged in granite.

"That will be all for today Qrow, I believe you have a mission to prepare for." Qrow didn't seem pleased with the not so subtle attempt to dismiss him but he respected the headmasters sentiment and left the room. Ozpin waited until he saw the elevator on ground level before returning to his call. "We are as secure as possible."

Ironwoods face eased back some, while still stern and authoritative, it now had subtle hints of a person hidden below the military bravado. "How are you doing old friend?"

The headmaster didn't believe for a second that the General called for something so trivial as a check up, but the sentiment was appreciated nonetheless. "I am quite well. How are things in Atlas?" He doubted the General harboured any ill will towards him and was truthfully appreciative of the easytone.

The general sighed ever so subtly before speaking, allowing his shoulders to fall just a hair and the tension on his face to relace just a little bit more. "I could do with a few less journalists, a definitely a few less politicians."

"I am glad to see things are as normal." The headmaster smiled softly and the man on the other side of the call returned what someone might have called a smile, if one were to squint slightly.

The smile faded quickly. "I'm afraid this isn't a social call, Ozpin." Sadly the friendliness was forced to take a backseat to business.

"It rarely is." Ozpin distracted himself with a drink of warm coffee. "What is it you wished to discuss?"

"I am told you have been asking our people about something, may I ask what it was?" The general was back to his stern look reserved for when he wanted to hold back any sign of his personal opinion on the matter.

"I was inquiring about an organization." The general had very few tells when it came to his true thoughts, but they were there when you knew what to look for. "I assure you I was not seeking anything too substantial, merley information."

"Why did you not approach me directly?" James always did have a fanciful mind, searching for the greater meaning behind every detail.

"I did not wish to bother you with such trivial information." Ozpin spoke the truth though he could tell he didn't believe him. "You are a busy man and it was but a scroll call away. I saw no harm in the action."

"Why now?" Blue eyes narrowed, once again searching for a deeper meaning. "The active investigation ended years ago."

"The active one yes." Left unsaid was the actions both men knew had taken place between then.

"Atlas has not taken any action without me informing you personally." James spoke the truth, or at least the truth as he believed it.

"I merely wish to avoid any further incidents." The headmaster checked his watch, attempting to impart the message he had somewhere to be.

"That still doesn't answer my question then, why now?"

"New… information has come to my attention that may be useful. I hadn't expected to find anything related to your investigation-"

"Inactive investigation."

"-your Inactive investigation when I was searching for it. I was unaware the two were connected. Until now. You never told me about the UNSC. I only found about them recently." The headmaster took another drink, working to hide his face at any opportunity.

"The investigation is an Atlesian one, I didn't believe it involved you." The general had good intentions, Ozpin knew that and it was for that reason he trusted the man with so much, but when it came to trust James was often hypocritical.

"And I do not wish to interfere with your investigation, I have all the information I need." There was a soft clink as Ozpin set his mug down on his desk. "Will that be all?"

"I would like to see this new information you have, at the earliest possible convenience." As ever the man was blunt.

"You will, but for now I must go. Good day, General."

"Likewise, Headmaster." The screen flicked black and the room was no longer filled with the same tension it held before.

Ozpin let loose a heavy breath and relaxed deeper into his chair. He had taken a moderate gamble when he allowed the two to enroll but it had payed off, if for nothing else than the fact he now knew about the UNSC and the fact Atlas was investigating them, but they were showing true promise for the future. He only hoped they had a future to see.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Academy_

Aless and Ben had spent the few hours since the meeting arranging their gear and gathering their supplies, by the time they were done Aless had received a message on her scroll telling her that Qrow was waiting at the docks.

Aless briefed the pilot on where they needed to go and once the location was cleared by Ozpin they were off.

The trio sat in relative silence, only punctured by the occasional question from Ben. As they approached their destination, however, the pilot became the one to break the silence.

"Got a lot of turbulence coming up, the island is pretty stormy so expect a rough flight from here on out." The pilots words were proven correct a moment later as the craft was rocked by winds and the metal rang with the sound of rain hitting it at high speeds.

"What are we looking for?" Qrow had finally elected to ask an important question.

Ben nodded to Aless and let her answer the question. "Survivors are a priority but our main goal is to locate the ships bridge. Through that we should be able to access the ships built in Slipspace COM, or if that's not intact we resort to the slip beacon, either of those should let us get in touch with our superiors."

"I thought we were after the beacon?" Qrow pulled his flask up and took a swig.

"Ideally the COM is still up but it's pretty possible that was damaged during the crash. The beacon is a secondary objective." Ben stood and walked to the cabin, nearly losing his footing numerous times as the shuttle rocked against the winds.

"How's the approach looking?" Ben inquired.

The pilot didn't look back from his instruments. "I don't think I can get you much further, I see a path up from the beach that leads into the mountains, from there you'll be able to get to your coordinates. So long as you don't mind walking a bit.

"That'll be fine, we'll be in touch." Ben walked back and stood next to the door, waiting to hear the hydraulics release and allow them to disembark.

Qrow stood up with a sigh. "Rain, just great." He took a swig from his flask and moved closer to the door.

The landing was sudden and the second the door opened the cabin was assaulted by wind and rain but the three jumped out quickly. Ben took point and once it was clear they weren't gonna be attack right away he signaled for the Bullhead to take off.

The LZ was quiet but for the sound of heavy rain, which was admittedly not that quiet, as the group waited for Grimm. After a minute of standing in the rain Qrow seemed to have enough.

"Let's get going before I catch a cold." He kept his hands in his pockets and moved ahead of the other two.

Ben looked to Aless before shrugging his shoulders and following the man.

"He is the navigator I guess, not like there's many ways to go otherwise."

The three made their way off the beach and onto more stable ground. They stopped in a small area protected from the rain by the rock face.

"You guys got a map?" Qrow turned to look at Aless expecting her to be the prepared one.

"There isn't one, at least not an in-depth one. This was the best I could get." Aless reached into one of her armour's secured patches pulling out a scroll and tossing it to him.

"Looks accurate enough, though it certainly is lacking the finer details. There's a path just up the ridge that doesn't show up on the map, so long as that clearing is still there then it should lead directly to whatever it is you're looking for." Qrow tossed the scroll back to her. "I'll scout it out, you two just wait here. Keep your eyes out for grimm." Aless made to argue against separating but he had already sprinted off and out of eye sight.

Qrow was gone no more than a few minutes before he returned. "All right, the clearing is there and there weren't any grimm." Qrow sighed and brought a hand to his weapon.

"Aless, we got movement." Ben's voice keyed in over the helmet's radio as he fired at something down the hill side.

Aless looked over to the spot Ben was shooting at to see several large Grimm moving up the hill side.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Island off the coast of Sanus_

"Three on your left." Ben turned his back on the approaching creature, trusting Aless to take care of them while he reloaded.

The three stood no chance against Qrow and his scythe, though the numbers were quickly replaced by more.

"Pull back up the hill, there should be a cliff wall just ahead. It'll put us well above them for a time, assuming you two can climb a hell of a lot faster than you can kill Grimm." Qrow spun in place for a moment removing the head of one of the larger Grimm before retreating up the hill.

"I'm this close to kickin' your ass old man." Ben ignited the energy bayonet at the end of Jezebel and used it to slice off a claw that had attempted to remove his head.

Ben covered for Aless as she did the same and soon the three of them had their backs against a solid rock wall, Qrow was already half way up by the time Ben had gotten there.

"You gonna let an ' _old man'_ beat you to the top?" Qrow stopped his climb a moment to look over his shoulder, only to be startled when he saw Ben and Aless only a few meters below him.

The grimm below attempted to jump up and snatch them off the wall but none came close.

Ben nearly fell when a large black feather smashed into the wall beside him, only missing his head by a fraction of a meter.

"What the hell is that?" Ben would have fallen had it not been for the grip he gained on the feather itself.

"Nevermore!" Aless yelled from above him, the feather and his near death experience apparently not slowing her assent.

"Magical poetry bird of death, got it." Ben maneuvered his way up the cliff, ignoring the several deadly blade like feathers impacting the stone wall. "We need to get out of the open!" He dodged several more projectiles from the bird.

"It's just one Nevermore, not exactly a difficult opponent." Qrow sighed and turned, preparing to fight the large bird. Ben did the same, rather optimistic on their odds at first. Until several more capped the cliff side.

"I think that's more than one." Ben smirked as Qrow turned and began to run once more before doing so himself.

/-/

"I think we lost them." Ben turned from the cave entrance they had taken shelter in and activated his helmet light.

"Where to from here?" Qrow had managed to keep up and surprisingly enough been quite useful in dealing with the hordes of abominations.

"Um- that depends." Ben didn't like the uncertainty in Aless' voice from the start.

"On what?" Ben and Qrow looked at each other as they spoke in unison.

"The coordinates are right about here but that can't be right, the mountain range is still intact and there aren't any signs of a crash up top." Aless looked at her scroll checking the numbers again.

Qrow stepped into the darkness. "Beats the rain anyways."

Ben couldn't see any fault in his logic and shrugged his shoulders before following. Aless sighed and joined them.

It wasn't long before the trio found their objective.

"But how could it have gotten down here, there don't seem to be any openings and the hull is perfectly up against the wall. Hardly any seams or gaps." Aless inspected the metal wall blocking the tunnel, she was baffled about something though Ben didn't see the big deal.

"Lets just plant the explosive and get in, this section looks pretty beaten up so the explosives I brought should be plenty good for it." Ben moved up to the wall and began to prep the breaching charge.

"You thought to bring explosives?" Qrow seemed slightly surprised.

"You didn't?"

"You guys are missing the point." Aless seemed to be annoyed, though Ben just kept his nose down and set the explosives. "From the looks of it the cave formed around the ship, which doesn't make any sense. It takes centuries for caves to form naturally."

"Maybe it didn't form naturally, maybe it did, doesn't matter bomb's ready we have twenty seconds." Ben stood up and jogged back.

"You set it to a timer, what was the point of the detonator then?" Aless and Qrow followed swiftly, though it was only the former who complained.

"You were taking to long, though this would hurry you up a little."

"So you set a bomb?!" Aless seemed surprised, she really shouldn't have been.

The explosion was rather small in comparison to some of the ordinance Ben usually kept with him, when you lacked supplies you had to make due though. The hole it created was slightly larger than needed but smaller than desired, resulting in a slightly cramped experience.

"How powerful was that charge?" Aless ducked under some low hanging metal as the group weaved their way through what might have been a corridor once, now it was just rubble with just enough space to get through.

"Not powerful enough clearly." Ben mumbled to himself as he nearly tripped over some of the piping along the floor.

"You're missing the point. The hull should have been able to take it, the damage is far more extensive than I had realized." Aless began to trail off to herself, realizing neither Ben nor Qrow cared enough to discuss it.

"Where are we trying to get to?" Qrow seemed to be fairing slightly better than Ben and was able to keep up with Aless.

Aless snapped back to attention, apparently failing to notice the huntsman approach. "We need to find a terminal so I can see what sections of the ship are still intact."

"Will they still work? Doesn't seem like the lights are on anymore." Qrow was the first to enter the more intact corridor.

"They should be fine, UNSC builds them to last." Ben took a moment to scan the corridor to figure out which way they were supposed to be heading. "Should be just up this way, assuming the section is s-" There was a soft snap and in an instant Aless and him had their guns up ready to fire, only be pleasantly surprised when the ships emergency lights kicked on and the hall was lit with a soft red light.

"Power outages, makes sense." Aless relaxed and lower her weapon slightly but kept a more firm grip on it, Ben did much the same.

Qrow sighed. "At least we can see now. Which way?"

"Nearest technician station should be this way." Ben moved down the corridor in search of a terminal, the sooner they could find one the better.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Crash Site_

Aless couldn't help her analytical nature, it was just a part of her at this point, and at the moment it had a lot to look at. The ship was in a far worse state than it should have been, It was possible the Token took more damage before crashing than she knew but the hull should have been more than capable of stopping Ben's charge.

There was still one major glaring flaw she couldn't help but notice, the ship's interior was falling apart. Not in the way it would have been from the crash or from any action it may have seen but from time. The ship had seemed fairly new when they arrived, not top of the line but still up to date, the halls they walked through now seemed to be suffering from time.

The hull had gone without repairs, that was expected on a crashed ship, yet the metal itself seemed more brittle and weaker. The floor they walked on felt unstable like it might give way any moment, the walls were bent in, the emergency lights were dimmer than they should have been, and everything was coated in a thing layer of dust left undisturbed.

The ship had only crashed a week or so ago and yet it seemed more like an abandoned vessel than a crashed one.

"Stations just up ahead, Aless work your magic." Ben set himself up against the wall and leaned back, even though his posture made him seem relaxed and calm, and maybe he was, he kept his eyes on the hall. Qrow took a similar stance on the other side of the door.

It took her a moment to get power back through the terminal, the ships power seemed to be pooling somewhere else. Even with the systems working against her she was able to gain access, even without the login information.

A small map of what was once the Token fizzled in on the screen, most of it red signifying it was no longer on the same network and was separated from the part of the ship they were on.

"Looks like we got the quarters, part of engineering, the A.I. core, and the armoury." Aless couldn't help the smile that came to her face when Ben gasped excitedly.

"We get our pick of guns?" Ben kept his eyes focused on the hall but his voice was filled with the joy of a child during the holidays.

"We also have the officers lounge it seems." Aless mumbled to herself as she kept looking through the map in an attempt to find a clear unobstructed path to their destination.

"We have our choice of alcohol?" Ben was even more excited. "This crash might have been a good thing… well minus the whole 'crash' part."

"The bridge is gone so we'll have to settle for a distress beacon." Aless downloaded the map. "The armoury is the first place we should go." Aless sighed. "The fastest way there takes us through the lounge." Ben practically squealed. "Just make it quick we have a mission to do."

"You know me Aless, all business." Ben stood up, no longer leaning on the wall.

"If you two are done, I'd prefer not to be left in the dark when the lights go back out." Qrow looked to Aless. "Lead the way."

Aless had to lead the group down several corridors leading away from their desired direction in order to get to the only clear path left that followed most of the ship. Even then there were still numerous obstacles and instances where the trio had to double back and find another route.

"How big is this ship?" Qrow had kept quiet for the bulk of the travel. Showing far more professionalism than Aless had expected for a 'civilian'.

"A little larger than the Atlas model of airships, we are just not taking the direct path." The lie came easy and earned a subtle look from Ben, she made a point to explain later. This planet's larger ships didn't reach the same size as the UNSC ships, it would have been ill advised to be honest. She doubted Ben would see it that way however.

Qrow didn't seem to care too much for the information, though he didn't look like he believed her on the ships size.

"Lounge should be just ahead." Aless was forced to roll her eyes as Ben picked up his pace, attempting to be the first one to the room, and more appropriately the booze.

The door opened slowly as the group approached, and once the door was mostly open Ben moved for the place he knew the officers kept the good stuff. Ben called it such, in truth Aless thought it was all the same.

"Oh sweet scotch." Ben sighed blissfully as he carefully removed the bottles from their case.

Qrow walked over and picked one up himself. "Never heard of this brand, any good?"

"Yes, it's actually an old Earth sty-" Aless knew the speech Ben was about to go on and was quick to intervene.

"This way leads to the armoury. We should probably hurry." Aless moved to the door and opened it manually when it wouldn't do so automatically.

"We'll finish this talk later over a glass, guns await." Ben grabbed the last bottle and shoved it into his pack, replacing the space the explosives used to fill.

The corridor was similar to the others, falling apart and poorly lit. Thankfully the walk was shorter.

The armoury was more intact than the rest of the ship but equally cluttered, crates and containers thrown around the room during the crash.

Aless and Qrow began searching for the beacon immediately, Ben was less concerned with the mission and began scrounging up weapons and supplies.

It didn't take long to find a crate containing beacons, finding a beacon that was still intact was another detail however. Most had been damaged by the crash, the parts had degraded so far as to be almost useless. There were enough parts there and back at Beacon that Aless was convinced she could fix one up.

"Take these and leave the rest." Aless gestured to some of the irreplaceable parts and more advanced mechanisms that would be difficult to build. "I should be able to take care of the rest once we get back. Ben," Aless turned away from Qrow. "Got everything you want?"

"No, but I got all I can realistically carry." He had a strap over his shoulder leading to a bag that seemed almost stuffed to capacity.

"What's through there?" Aless turned to see what Qrow was looking at.

What she saw was a massive hole in what was once a wall separating the room from the hallway. Aless pulled up the map to find out where it lead.

"Should be the access hall to the A.I. core, after you go through the living quarters." she looked to Qrow.

"Might as well go check it out, see if the A.I. is still operating or not." Ben stepped through the hole and waited a second, when nothing attacked him he flagged the other two down.

"Wonder what blew that section open." Ben was careful to stay as quiet as possible but ruined it by speaking.

Aless rolled her eyes at the unprofessionalism but indulged him because the lack of action.

"Could have been the crash, maybe a misfire from the armoury itself?"

"The metal was bent inward and it was only the one section that was like that, if it was the crash the hallway would have been scorched on both sides or at least beaten up." Aless was surprised once more by Qrow's tactical analysis, if only because the phrase hardly fit the man.

"So clearly not any explosives, nothing plasma either." Ben was quick to agree. "Leads me to believe someone forced themselves through. Question is what."

"Beowulf, Ursa maybe, suppose a small Taijitu could make its way through the halls if it tried hard enough but I doubt it could really break the wall like that."

"Wonder what happened to the ships automated defenses, they should have been able to stop anything once it got in the halls. The ship is-" Ben turned around a corner and was rewarded with a volley of bullets in seconds.

He ducked back around, avoiding the gunfire.

"I found the automated defense." Qrow snickered and leaped around the corner drawing the fire from a few turrets as Ben and Aless took them out.

"Those things aren't exactly unstoppable, a few grimm would have no problem." Qrow looked down the hallway for any more.

Aless inspected one of the turrets closely. They had been suffering from a lack of maintenance, low power, and even low ammo. The last maintenance log was dated the day before the ship had left for the mission, Aless intended to bring up the ships poor maintenance record once they got back to the UNSC.

"We should check the A.I. core and make sure the other automated processes aren't gonna try and kill us." Aless looked to Ben and nodded in agreement.

"Should be through this hallway." Aless walked pass Qrow, once again taking the lead.

The walk was short as the three approached the door.

"Looks like its sealed, shouldn't take too long to get open." Aless moved to the terminal and began working.

There was a sudden and loud sound that emanated from the hall they had just come down.

"Shit." Ben was the first to move. "What are the odds that was just the ship settling in?" A loud roar was heard coming from the opposite side of the hallway. "Fuck." Ben groaned.

"Now would be a good time to get that door open." Qrow had pulled up his weapon and was watching the other side.

"This isn't something I can speed up. Is it Grimm?" Aless didn't dare look away from the screen in front of her.

"Yep!" Ben shouted over the sound of his gun firing down the hall.

"How many?" Aless had given up on carefully hacking her way in and was now just focusing on getting the door open. "Think you can hold them?"

"Define hold." Aless heard Ben ignite his bayonet.

"How's that door coming?" Qrow used the gun aspect of his weapon to hold off the Grimm while he talked with Aless.

"About as well as the last time you asked!" Aless groaned through gritted teeth, the panel sparked and sizzled before losing power all together. "This would be so much easier form the other side!" Aless kicked the wall, leaving a small dent, before trying the wires again.

"What do you mean?" Qrow didn't take his eyes off the grimm.

"The door is sealed from the other side, if someone got through they could open it by the press of a button." Aless watched as the wires sparked again before cutting out once more.

"Ok, lets try that." Qrow was starting to get on her nerves.

"No, I never would have thought of that. Of course I thought of that! How the hell are we supposed to get in there?" Aless crossed two wires and this time it almost seemed to work, until the door didn't open. "Ahh! There's only one way in other than this door, the ventilation duct over there."

"And we aren't trying that because?" Qrow had every right to ask, and in truth his questions were probably more from desperation than a desire to anger her, but that knowledge did little to offset Aless' growing irritation.

"The shaft is to small for a person to fit! I doubt your weapon would fit, let alone a person!" Aless looked up to Qrow for a split second before she looked back to the terminal she was working on.

"Where is this duct?"

"Small hole above us, you can't miss it." Aless didn't bother looking at him directly, though she wished she had.

Aless gave a small glance one moment seeing Qrow standing before her looking down the hallway before she looked back at the terminal, from the corner of her eye she saw… something, and looked back. What she saw where Qrow once stood was a bird… a bird!

The avian based creature quickly flew up through the hole, having some difficulty fitting but managing it just barely.

Aless stood there for a second doing nothing, unable to understand what had just happened and where Qrow had gone. Her bewilderment was interrupted by the realization that no one was watching the hallway Qrow had once been looking after.

She shook her head and leveled her rifle, choosing to focus on the thing she understood over the insanity that was this planet.

A moment later the door opened and Qrow emerged waving them in.

The door practically slammed shut the second the three were inside the room. The roars from outside continued for what felt like eternity until they died off.

"They can't get through there, right?" Qrow took a swig from his flask before offering it to Ben.

"They shouldn't be able to." Ben denied the offer of Qrow's flask, instead pulling out a bottle of his scotch.

"I wouldn't relax, they shouldn't have even been able to get on the ship." Aless, ever the realist, moved over to the panel next to the door to make sure it was sealed shut.

" _You don't need to do that, I assure you the door will hold."_ A synthetic feminine voice emanated from the far side of the room, the side the three had had their backs turned to.

Aless and Ben turned around in a fraction of a second, Qrow had somehow been faster. All three had expected trouble but were met with a glowing blue orb sitting over a pedestal.

The two Spartans relaxed, realizing what it was they were dealing with, Qrow however did no such thing.

The soft blue color changed to a vibrant red before she spoke once more. " _Go ahead and attack, I'm sure you could destroy me in less than a nanosecond. Which is how long it would take for me to vent the oxygen from this room."_ The voice was different from before, more monotone and farless cheerful. " _Might be able to get rid of your filth while I'm at it."_

"Um… did she always talk like that?" Ben was the first to comment, though the relaxed nature of the tone allowed Qrow to relax, realizing she was no longer a threat.

The A.I. faded back to its blue color. " _It would be truly unfortunate to lose another set of crew."_ The cheerful tone returned and the group of 'crew' were left with a sense of unease.

* * *

 **Authors Note: I would like to apologize for the long time span in between updates, it takes me a long time to get anything good written down and I always try to maintain a certain size, the cost of such is upload time, I truly am sorry. I will try to be a little more consistent. In truth this chapter was ready Wednesday but I wanted to wait until the weekend to give people a good opportunity to read it.**

 **I actually wrote a short story that you could go read if your interested.** _ **Strange Occurrences**_ **is the name, it's a purley RWBY fic following from Qrows prospective. I recommend it if you have the time.**

 **As always big thanks to my editors for their help and I encourage you all to review and criticize my work so I can improve it.**

 **Sincerely SE**


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: First update of the new year and I would like to ask you all an important question, would you like me to do smaller chapters for faster uploads? I want to hear from you, let me know in the review.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
Token A.I. Core_

It didn't take a genius to notice something was wrong with the A.I. that she had never learned the name of. The threat, as well as the sudden change in personality, was quite off-putting. Aless looked to Ben to try and judge his opinion but from what she could tell it didn't bother him, he was as calm as he always was. Qrow was less calm, though he had relaxed slightly once it was clear the A.I. wasn't going to attack them outright.

"Give me a sitrep" Aless fell back on formalities to ease her own tension. "What state is the ship in?"

The A.I. stayed silent for a moment before speaking in a cheerful tone once more. " _The ship is currently split into several pieces, this being the largest individual piece! All crew expired shortly after landing!"_ The projection switched back to a red color. " _ **It's been so boring the last few hundred years.**_ " The projection switched back to blue and continued to spout statistics about the ship's current status, none of which Aless truly heard.

"Hundreds of years? Looks like she got busted up a lot more than we thought." Ben mumbled to himself.

The A.I. stopped mid word to address Ben directly. " _I assure you my processors are operating perfectly fine! I have been counting the days since the last of the crew died!"_ The projection's color changed once more. " _ **Didn't have much else to do.**_ "

"Well you're wrong. We've been here what, a week?" Ben turned to Aless to get confirmation.

The monotone voice sighed " _ **You just got here.**_ " The projection turned blue and let out a cheerful laugh. " _We came through first!... It has been a long wait!"_

Qrow raised an eyebrow in question but was left unanswered. By both the A.I. and the Spartans, though the latter knew far less than he likely thought they did.

"You know where we are?" Ben asked.

" _Better!_ " The A.I.'s chipper tone spoke once again.

There were a few moments of silence before it became clear she didn't plan on continuing.

"Are you going to tell us?" Ben clarified.

This time it was the monotone voice that spoke. " _ **What would you do if I said no?**_ " There was a moment of silence before she continued, once again in a cheerful tone. " _I would be delighted!_ " A small holo map of the Milky Way galaxy was displayed where the A.I.'s model was a moment ago. " _We are not here!_ "

Silence rained once more.

"Yep… she's broken." Ben sighed and Aless agreed.

" _I assure you I am still,_ _ **mostly**_ _, in one piece! We are no longer in the Milky Way galaxy."_ The voice kept its cheerful tone and blue tone.

"Yeah, broken." Ben sighed. "At least she still recognizes us, that would have been bad."

Aless reflected Ben's disappointment, a working A.I. was a lot more useful than a broken one. "Lets just send the message and get a copy of the drive."

" _I'm afraid communications are impossible!"_ Once again the cheerful voice dashed their hopes. It switched back to a monotone voice. " _ **What part of 'different galaxy' don't you understand?**_ "

"And how would that happen exactly?" Ben said with a sigh. "That's quite the distance." He was already making his way to the only remaining intact terminal in the room, working on getting what information they could.

" _ **Forerunner space magic.**_ " The A.I. switched to its cheerful tone once more. " _The device opened up an advanced form of slipspace! One that I have never observed before. It was quite the chance for sample gathering!"_

"The Forerunner device" Ben stopped what he was doing and looked back towards the projection. "Did you run scans of it before everything went to hell?"

" _Yes! 3,596 to be exact!"_ The cheerful voice once again stopped.

Ben Sighed again. "And what were the results?"

The terminal Ben stood at flashed between several documents as the cheerful voice continued to speak. " _Initial scans labeled the device as inert, requiring some kind of activation code. Once the device was put in isolation however, it began to activate! The device put off a form of residual energy that doesn't exist on UNSC records, that energy combined with our attempt to go through slipspace should have been enough to destroy the ship!"_ The voice switched once more. " _ **It would have too if it weren't for the Engineer and that Spartan shutting the containment down.**_ "

Aless walked over to the terminal, Ben more than willing to let her makes sense of the nonsense displayed there.

The room was silent for several minutes while Aless read through the info.

"This can't be right, your sensors are broken." Aless turned back around to the A.I. "You're damaged."

" _Oh, I assure you I am!"_ The blue holograms voice answered back before switching back to red. " _ **Kinda hard not to be after a fall through dimensions.**_ "

"Anyone care to fill me in?" Qrow finally spoke up, though he directed his question more at Aless than anyone else.

"The A.I. would seem to be correct, so long as the equipment is not damaged." She was very much doubting it. People didn't simply leave one dimension and end up in another. "The ship took a beating when it crashed and it would seem the A.I. has… deteriorated." She was careful not to insult the thing directly, if only because it could probably kill them. Or, at least Qrow who wasn't wearing a sealed suit.

"Do we have proof it didn't happen?" Ben sighed. "As crazy as it sounds, and it is crazy, it would explain a lot of stuff."

Red spoke once more. " _ **Yeah, this dimension's idea of normal puts our physics to shame.**_ " The monotone voice altered. " _Fun fact! This dimension was not friendly to artificial intelligence! It tore my mind apart an infinite number of times before putting it back together! ...It was quite painful!"_

Aless ignored the ramblings of the frankly insane A.I. _Could it be right? Sure that would explain some stuff but it was impossible, so incredibly unbelievable, and yet here we are. Everything says it's right._

The thoughts brought with them a rather daunting question Aless needed the answer to.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
Token A.I. Core_

Ben could admit to being a little surprised, it wasn't often people traveled through dimensions and yet it certainly looked like that was what they had done. In truth he didn't mind it. They had ended up on a pretty nice world. It was simple, no invading Covenant fleets, no war lords trying to unite their empire, it was a nice change of pace. It would make a good place to retire to, assuming they couldn't find a way back, and from what he could tell the people weren't all that bad. He liked meeting new people, he liked the idea of starting a new life. More importantly, he liked the idea of starting with a clean slate.

The only thing he was worried about was Aless.

"We can't get in touch with the UNSC, can we?" Aless was quick to ask the important questions, just like always.

Ben knew that he could adapt, he had lived a normal life before joining up. Aless never had though, she was military through and through. The only times she ever appeared to be a normal person were the rare occasions when he could get her talking about her favourite games.

He was worried she would have problems adapting to the change. No, he knew she would have problems adapting. He had come to know her quite well in their time spent fighting across the galaxy. If there was one thing he had learned about Aless it was that she followed orders, she _lived_ for orders. He didn't know how she would do without them.

Aless was second in command of the fireteam, but only because someone had to be. Even on the rare opportunity when she actually commanded the group she usually just echoed the words of their superiors.

Aless was a soldier to the core, she had been one for years, and Ben didn't know if she could adapt. She was strong, not just physically but also mentally. He had faith in her but he planned on keeping an eye out anyways.

" _ **That's what I've been saying.**_ " Ben was starting to dislike the second voice, while the sarcastic quips would have been funny in another setting, here they were annoying. " _You're about all that's left of the UNSC."_ The A.I. seemed to think for a moment before changing colors. " _That means you are the highest ranks left! You have been granted access to all files!"_ The A.I. paused for a moment. " _Priority update! Mission objective failed!"_

Qrow glanced around the decrepit room. "Was that ever up for question?" Ben made a similar response.

Aless ignored their insightful commentary, speaking with a sigh."We are aware the mission was a failure. The Forerunner artifa-" she was interrupted by the monotone voice.

" _ **Wrong.**_ " There was silence for a few moments before the A.I. realized she was supposed to continue, she did so with a sigh. " _ **That wasn't the only objective.**_ " Her color switched back to blue. " _The second objective was highly classified! I doubt they told you!"_

Ben's curiosity got the better of him. "What was the second objective?"

" _You were all supposed to die!"_

The room was shocked into silence once more. It was Aless who seemed the most surprised.

The silence dragged on longer than Ben would have liked, though to be fair there was good reason. He still couldn't help asking. "Why?"

The A.I. switched back to red. " _ **How would I know? It's not like they tell me everything.**_ " There was another moment of silence before red spoke again, irritation evident in her voice. " _ **There was a small mention that you knew something you shouldn't have. Order came from up high, way up the chain actually. It has an ONI encryption.**_ "

Aless chuckled softly to herself, but Ben didn't fail to notice how it lacked any semblance of humour.

There was a loud clang against the door that caused everyone in the room to flinch, resulting in a small dent in the door.

Ben was thankful for the distraction."We need to move. Aless, have you got the stuff off the drive?"

Aless took a moment to respond. "I-I already have most the important stuff." She ran over to the terminal and began to pull up a few more files. "Though with what we know now, I need to grab the classified parts.." Ben handed her the storage chip he kept in his helmet, usually reserved for her use on missions like this. He turned his attention to the door.

" _I would like to make a request, if you would allow me to!"_ The A.I. paused for a second to allow them to deny her before continuing. " _I have been alone for quite a long time! I have found this encounter to be quite entertaining!"_ Ben had a feeling he knew what she was gonna ask for. The color switched to red. " _ **Don't leave me here… please.**_ " It was perhaps the most emotion Ben had heard from the monotone voice.

Ben looked to Aless with a shrug. "She would be pretty helpful."

"It's also broken, probably rampant." Aless didn't look up from the terminal. "If what it says is correct then it has been here for a few hundred years."

When Aless didn't say no Ben walked over to the A.I. display and pulled the chip. The lights in the room flickered and the entire ship creaked momentarily before it settled back into the silence from before.

" _I have miscalculated!"_ The cheery voice came through Ben's external speakers.

"I'm starting to hate you." Qrow mumbled softly to himself, the sound of defeat in his voice.

" _It would seem that without me to manage the failing reactor, the ship's integrity has dropped!"_ There was a distinct pause before the monotone voice spoke. " _ **On the bright side, those things on the other side of the door are gone. So….**_ " It was a weak excuse, even she seemed to know that.

"How much time do we have?" Aless pulled a chip from the terminal and turned back to the group, moving towards the door.

" _ **Uh… five minutes?**_ " The monotone voice wasn't very helpful.

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Token Corridor_

The group had made good time, mostly due to the navigation assistance from the A.I.. The section they had come in at was obscured with rock and debris from the ship shifting, forcing them to find another exit. The A.I. was proving its usefulness by guiding them through the decrepit ship faster than Aless could have using the map.

She was still uncertain about bringing it along but now was not the time for an argument. Worse case they destroyed it once they got back to Beacon. She had bigger things to think about.

The A.I. had said they were no longer in the same dimension, Aless didn't believe the thing. It had been damaged by the artifact, maybe even forced into rampancy depending how old it was when they started the mission. It also had sensor data to prove the theory, that was harder to ignore.

The data was strange, chaotic. Aless didn't fully understand it all, and there was a lot of it. In the end she had filled up most of her drive, she had prioritized the important things such as the data on where they were. The information ranged from the level of background radiation in the galaxy, to the alignment of the stars, there were even a few pages where the A.I. had tried to prove this wasn't the afterlife. The results were inconclusive.

The one similarity between all the data was its end conclusion, that they were not in the Milky Way galaxy. Whether that meant a different galaxy or different dimension all together was a little less certain, though the latter was labeled more reasonable due to the vast changes to the laws of physics.

Aless almost ran into a wall, and would have too if Ben hadn't nudged her to the side.

"Where are we heading from here?" Qrow had been fairly quiet for the bulk of the trip, though she didn't know him enough to say if that was normal or not. She believed it had more to do with the information they had just been given, and more likely, he was simply pondering as to whether they were insane or not.

" _What's left of one of the hangars is exposed to the outside! Those that survived the initial landing left through there, leaving me behind!"_ The voice paused, signifying it switching between its personalities. " _ **Bastards.**_ "

That was another thing Aless didn't like, the time difference. The A.I. said it had been here for a few hundred years at least, it failed to mention specifics but that painted a rather troubling picture. If the Token truly did arrive so long before them then that would mean the A.I. should have deactivated by now, the fact it hadn't was quite worrying.

Aless put aside her concern as they entered what had once been a hangar.

" _If you bring me to the door I would be happy to open it for you!"_

Aless flinched slightly as the insane voice came from Ben's speaker with unneeded volume and cheer. Ben ran to one of the terminals and a second later the door lurched slightly, opening enough to let them out.

There was a howl from the other side of the hangar as a few Beowulfs pulled themselves through the corridors and into the open space. They wasted no time as they ran after the group but the door was shut enough to stop them from following.

Aless took a moment to gain her bearings. It appeared to be another cave entrance, albeit a much larger one. The cave was rather short, giving way to an open valley. All she heard for a moment was rain, then the grimm had once again begun to close in on their position.

Up to this point Aless had seen small groups of grimm, enough to push them back but never enough to overwhelm them. If it would have been necessary Ben and her could have held their position and dealt with them, this time was different. She wasn't sure where to begin. Higher ground and a better defensive position was what she chose.

"Qrow, call in the Bullhead!" Aless lead the group around the cave entrance they had come from and up the hill slightly, wrapping back around to where they had come from.

"He can't come in this far you know, we'll have to get back to the beach." Qrow seemed focused. That should have comforted her, it didn't.

"The path we came down should be just up ahead." Ben turned and took a few shots at some grimm who had gotten to close for comfort. It didn't take too many well placed shots to bring them down, so long as you missed the bone armour. There were just so many of them!

Qrow pulled up his scroll and looked at it for a second before putting it away with a growl. "No signal. Typical. Once we get out of the valley I should be able to contact him."

The hike was agony. While the actual distance was fairly short and the incline wasn't all that bad, she could have done without the grimm every five feet. By the time they had finally reached the top of the hill and begun their decent back down Aless was already running low on ammo, even with the bag full of it Ben had grabbed.

Qrow tried his scroll once more, holding it to his face and listening carefully. There were a few seconds of silence from him that made it seem like no answer was coming before a voice came through. Qrow told the guy to get his ass down to the beach, and hung up the call.

"Pilot's on the way." He turned to his side, taking a few potshots at the Ursa trying to cut them off, but didn't stop.

Aless turned her attention back to their front, thankfully only a few grimm had actually managed to approach from that direction. Mostly the fast but weak ones. As their feet touched the rocky shore, she heard the worst possible sound she could have. Her gun ran empty. She had already used all the ammo Ben had grabbed that would work and so reattached the weapon to her back.

There was a loud inhuman scream from down the beach, Aless looked with a sigh. The sight before her was something she would never forget. Some kind of creature that at first glance might have seemed normal, only at first.

"What the hell is that?" Ben sounded annoyed more than anything.

The grimm, judging from the color and general nature there wasn't much else it could have been, had the figure of a man sat on top of a horse. At a closer glance it was clear the two figures were actually fused together. The creature let out another scream with enough force to be felt, not just heard.

"Yo, Qrow" Ben leveled Jezabel at the thing. "Do we run or fight?"

Qrow spared a glance down the shore to the slowly approaching creature and then one to Ben. "Got any heavy ordinance in that bag?"

"Well, not exactly." Ben smirked and pulled out his grenade launcher and fired it once down range. It didn't hit the main target but did clear out a sizable amount of the grmm in front of it.

Qrow raised an eyebrow "How is that not an explosive?"

Ben spared a quick glance to Qrow as he reloaded the launcher "Hmm? Oh it is, I just didn't have it in my bag." Aless wasn't looking but she was fairly certain she heard Qrow's hand slap against his forehead.

The group pulled back to try and gain some distance between them and the creature.

"How many more shots ya got?" Qrow asked. "Might not even need the help from the bullhead."

Ben brought a hand to his helmet in a pondering motion. "About three more, maybe four. Not entirely sure."

Aless let her attention lapse for a second and took her eyes off the large creature, it was still a large distance away leaving them with plenty of time to respond should it advance. Or so she thought.

She wasn't entirely sure what happened. One moment she was looking over to Qrow and Ben and the next she was sailing through the air. She was unprepared for when her back hit the cliff wall, knocking the air from her lungs.

Aless thought she heard a faint yell but wasn't sure. Between the sudden hit and the sound of the heavy rain it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on any one sound in particular. She took a moment to regain her bearings.

Aless' instincts screamed for her to move and she did so. She rolled to the side and felt the ground shake a split second later. She glanced over to see a black tendril retreat back.

There was a muddled thud somewhere down the shore as Aless stood up. It took her a moment to balance herself, her eyes were having trouble focusing.

 _Must have hit my head as well, minor concussion._

Once again her instincts told her to move, she knew better than to ignore them. A quick roll to the side and she heard something smash the place she had been a moment before. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as her eyes finally began to focus back in, allowing her to see.

Aless dodged once more though this time she unholstered her sidearm and shot her attacker, or rather the limb of her attacker who was still a good fifty feet away. She turned back to Ben and Qrow and started to move, just as the rock beneath her slipped.

It was one of the most embarrassing things she had ever done on the battlefield, she slipped. On a wet rock! She scrambled to her feet as quick as she could but was unable to dodge the limb of the creature. She was launched back into the wall, this time the cliff face seemed buckle slightly and drop debris over the limb.

Aless made to stand only to yell in surprise. She looked down to see several of the creatures spiked fingers wrapped around her leg. It pulled and jerked her violently before she felt something pop, she hoped it was the creature's arm. Judging by the quick rush of pain she wasn't so lucky.

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
_ _Coastline_

Ben heard a scream of pain come from Aless, it took every ounce of strength in his body to not run over there and help her. Instead he was forced to trust Qrow, he was faster and more agile. He was the logical choice, that knowledge didn't help him any.

Ben loaded another shell into Demise and leveled it at the creature. The first shot had come up short, more due to impatience than anything else, the second shot had been intercepted by a smaller bastard before it could make contact with the lanky bastard on the horse, just unlucky really. The third shot landed directly in the horse's mouth. There was a pause where nothing happened right before it was blown apart.

The instant the nightmare fuel was no longer screaming at the tops of its lungs Ben could hear the Bullhead approaching, as well as one of the most beautiful sounds in the world, a rotary canon. He wasn't certain if that was actually what it was, but it sure as hell sounded like one.

A moment later the vast horde of grimm was gone. Ben waited a moment to make sure no more were gonna come before moving back to the bullhead. Qrow was already there helping to carry a limp Aless.

They were barely on the bullhead before it took off. Ben had already moved over to Aless' body and began removing her helmet.

"Tell Beacon we'll need medical as soon as we arrive!" Ben checked her breathing to make sure it was steady.

The pilot shouted from the cockpit. "We won't be back at Beacon for at least an hour."

"Well go faster damn it!" Ben snapped.

"She'll be fine, she just passed out from the pain." Qrow attempted to calm him down. "Just gotta worry about these." he moved over to Aless and turned her leg slightly. There were a few holes where the creature had grabbed its fingers into. Thankfully none of them went clear through.

"What a shit-show." Ben sighed and leaned against the wall of the Bullhead.

"That happens" Qrow offered him a flask. "Point is we all made it out, maybe a little beat up but nothing permanent. She's a tough one, she'll be fine."

Ben sighed again, taking the offered flask. After a long drink he handed it back.

/-/

Ben sat in the schools infirmary with mild annoyance. The bullhead had gotten back without incident. There was a doctor ready upon arrival who assured him Aless would be fine. It didn't stop him from worrying though. Oh he was glad the doctor was so confident, that was a good sign, but it was still troubling.

The entire trip back Ben had been wanting to ask their new A.I. friend some questions. He hadn't because he felt it would have been rude to ignore Qrow… ok he had tried asking her, she had just ignored him. It was quite frustrating.

Instead of having his questions answered he got silence, that was fine.

The door to the main hall opened and Ben could make out three sets of footsteps making their way in his direction.

"Mr. MacDavis" The headmaster offered a subtle nod and gentle smile. "How is Miss West?"

"Fine, or so I'm told." The nurse at the desk near them coughed awkwardly. "A little roughed up but nothing major, they haven't told me the specifics."

The curtain to one of the area Aless was being kept flapped open as the doctor stepped out.

The Headmaster turned to the doctor and asked the same question he had of Ben.

"Her leg was broken as well as punctured in several locations. It would appear she passed out from the pain." The doctor turned to Ben. "She will make a full recovery but she should limit the use of her leg for a month or two. She should avoid anything too strenuous. In the meantime you should get some rest." Ben leaned back into the chair slightly. "I didn't mean here."

Ben sighed but stood up. "I'm gonna go get a drink." The doctor sent him a glare but he pretended not to see it. "Let me know the second she wakes up."

"If it's all the same with you Oz..." Qrow spoke. "I'm gonna go with the fun one. You know how to reach me." Qrow followed Ben out the door.

The corridors were quieter than he expected, though to be fair it was rather late… or early, he wasn't sure at this point. The sun was not out, that was all that mattered to him. It was prime drinking hours.

"You know where we can get a drink close by?" The smile on Qrow's face said he didn't have to ask.

* * *

 _Headmaster Ozpin  
_ _Beacon Infirmary_

Ozpin watched the two men leave with curious eyes. He would admit to being a little curious as to whether Benjamin would be able to keep up with Qrow. He couldn't help but feel Glynda was going to have quite the migraine by tomorrow morning.

"When will she be awake?" Glynda, as always, asked the important questions.

"She's awake now." The room was silent for a moment before the doctor continued. "He was out here for five hours, he needs the rest."

"Somehow I doubt he will be getting it." Glynda sighed.

The doctor paused for a moment and spoke in a hushed tone. "She said she didn't want to see him."

Glynda looked over to Ozpin with one arched eyebrow. He kept his attention firmly on the doctor.

"She also needs her rest. I did let her know first, she understood." The doctor looked back to the curtained off area for a moment. "I would advise you wait for any questions you wish to ask."

"That won't be necessary ma'am." Miss West spoke from behind the curtain. "I would actually like to talk to the Headmaster now, if you think that would be alright."

The doctor sighed. "Very well, but make it quick."

Ozpin and Glynda entered the curtained off room and positioned themselves near the bed.

"When you asked to borrow a bullhead" Ozpin began " I didn't expect you to come back so injured. How are you feeling?"

"I am fine sir. I… I need to inform you about what we learned." Miss west kept her face stern but failed to do the same for her eyes. She was worried about something. Possibly his response.

She started with an explanation about where she came from.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** **Exposition thine name is ch12.** **Aless and Ben now know about their predicament, truly a twist none saw coming.**

 **I'm thinking about switching to shorter chapters for more consistent upload times, at the moment I upload something about every two weeks if this is something you would like let me know. Or if this is something you would dislike let me know.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and I encourage you to review.**

 **Sincerely SE**


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Note: I apologize for the gap in upload, some family stuff came up and interfered a little bit. As a result this chapter is a little shorter than normal.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 _Headmaster Ozpin  
_ _Beacon Infirmary_

Ozpin was no stranger to fanciful stories and fairy tales, he was the center of more than he cared to know, but even with the knowledge of all that this was completely new. It was quite intriguing indeed.

Ozpin hid his small smile behind his hands which he kept arched in front of him as he sat. If true, the ramifications were incalculable. The sheer amount of possibilities nearly overwhelmed him, he grounded himself in the moment and waited patiently for the girl to finish.

"That is quite the tale Miss West." Ozpin paused but continued before she could interrupt. "I can not discount its possibility, though I must ask for any proof you may have on the matter."

"That's" Aless started. "not an easy thing. I have documents and files but I doubt they would make much sense without years of study."

"Such information would be understandably difficult to process." Glynda sat patiently at his side, giving no hint as to whether she believed it was the truth or not.

"I know you don't have any reason to believe me but it's the truth."

 _Oh, how often the truth is subjective, Miss West._ Ozpin sighed and rose from his chair.

"The way I see it, Miss West," He took a step towards the exit. "Is that I would have to be a fool to believe such a lie-"

"I'm not li-"

"I do not believe you are, and I did not mean to make it sound as an accusation." Glynda stood from her own seat and moved over to stand at his side. "You are a student of Beacon, as well as a partial employee. That is, if you still choose to be."

"I do, sir."

"Then that you shall remain Miss West." He held the curtain open for Glynda. "I shall send your friend in as soon as I see them."

For the first time Ozpin had seen, Aless actually appeared to become nervous. "If it's all the same to you headmaster, I would rather wait to see Ben."

"In cases such as yours I feel that would be a bad idea." When Aless returned a look of confusion Ozpin elaborated. "You are alone here, in a manner of speaking. There are few you can be completely honest with and fewer still who will understand your plight, do not alienate those who can." He paused for a moment more. "There will be one condition if you are to stay here at Beacon."

The girls eyes widened ever so slightly, filled with what Ozpin might have called panic were he being generous. "Yes?"

"Take the time you have to relax and live a normal life. With what you said of your history, you deserve to learn how to live. Knowledge I am afraid you and your teammate sorely lack." Ozpin turned and stepped through the curtain. "Rest easy miss West."

The rest of the room was empty, aside from the doctor and her assistant. Glynda stood by the door at the end of the room waiting for him.

"What are your thoughts on her?" Glynda was a good judge of character, an understanding person more often than not, her judgment was always to be trusted and Ozpin needed the opinion.

She took her time to think of an accurate answer. "She is strong, smart, and adaptive. All traits many her age are lacking, she fits the soldier role well. Dangerously well."

The short assessment was the same as what Ozpin himself had concluded. It was always a sad sight to see, the young with old souls. People grew up to fast sometimes, given little to no opportunity to grow and learn to live a life beyond what they know, many more were simply unwilling to do so. He hoped, for her sake, that Aless would be able to grow.

"I believe it is time I payed Headmaster Lionheart a visit." Ozpin continued down the hallway. "It has been quite some time since I last went to Haven."

Glynda looked at him from the corner of her eye briefly. "There have been a number of questions such a trip could answer. Do be careful Headmaster, Mistral has become rather dangerous as of late."

"Quite."

 _So many questions… and so few answers left._

* * *

 _Benjamin MacDavis  
Vale Bar_

The city had been both impressive and disappointing at first sight. While it's small size had at first worried Ben it soon became apparent that the city had everything a person could want, and by that he meant everything. A nation's worth of culture crammed into a small area, he was loving it, and like all good cities it had its fair share of bars.

Ben was enjoying the company, almost, as much. "So… a bird… is that normal in this dimension?" The drink in his hands and his body making the thoughts slightly harder to come by.

"Not really no." Qrow was showing to be quite the drinking companion, more than able to keep up so far.

There was a moment of silence. "You gonna elaborate on that?"

"Talk to Oz, he can tell you more than I can." Qrow shrugged and returned his attention to his drink. "So… dimension hopping… that normal where you come from?"

"Nope, never heard of it being done. Still not sure if I trust the A.I. or not."

Qrow scoffed. "Yeah, she seemed a bit unstable. That normal?"

"For fragments, sure." Ben waved over to the bartender to refill his cup.

"Fragments?" Qrow did the same.

"When an A.I. is put under enough stress it can… break." He paused to drink. "That isn't exactly the way it happens but it's as good as I can explain it. Point is that she'll end up being either incredibly useful or try to kill us."

Qrow balked at him for a moment before sighing and taking another drink. "Never easy with soldier types is it."

"Eh, I'm pretty simple myself." He ignored the insult potential in the statement.

"You also aren't exactly the soldier type yourself, at least not in the same way your girl is." Qrow gestured the bartender over for another refill.

"First, not my girl. Second, her name is Aless." Ben straightened up "Third, I am the soldier type… just a less disciplined one… with a better sense of humour… and a nice ass."

"You, my armour clad friend." Qrow turned and poked a finger into his metal chest piece. "Are not the soldier type. Too free spirited, too outside the box." He retracted the finger and looked back to the glass on the bar in front of him.

"Loads of soldiers are like that, gotta have a sense of humour in the foxhole." Ben chuckled lightly to himself before finishing his drink. "Soldiers have changed a lot since your day old man."

"I'm not much older than you, I could still definitely kick your ass."

"Keep telling yourself that, gotta hold on to the glory years after all." Qrow mumbled some insults and mild threats but nothing with any real intent. "Welp, better get back to Beacon." Ben made to stand until Qrow waved the bartender back over. "On the other hand, one more couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that." Qrow's grin was all too self serving.

/-/

Ben became aware of existence all too suddenly. Hoping beyond hope that God would strike him down and spare him the trouble of the migraine he knew was on the way. He wasn't so lucky.

Ben was content to sit wherever it was that he had fallen asleep the night before, and would have too, if it weren't for the fact that something kept poking his face. He swatted at it limply with one hand and was pleased with the startled yelp that signified his victory over the fiend who saw fit to interrupt him.

A sharp stab to his side by something Ben immediately recognized as heels had him snapping open his eyes. The light made it difficult to see for a moment before his eyes were able to compensate. The face that stood above him did not seem impressed with the state he was in.

"You know, when Robo Girl said she carried you home from drinking, I didn't think she was being serious." The beret clad women before him offered a hand to pull him up, and much to his surprise she was able to.

"Thanks…" Ben struggled for a name but gave up when it proved a fruitless effort.

"Why were you passed out drunk in the hallway?" Beret's voice was surprisingly loud.

"Because I drank to much… or maybe just the right amount, suppose it depends on your viewpoint."

"How could you sleep like that, especially in that armour?" Every word she spoke forced him to wince.

"Inebriated" He responded, raising an eyebrow. "How would you do it?"

"Your door is three feet away from you." She gestured slightly down the hall.

"Huh… so it is." Ben looked down to the spot he had occupied a moment ago. "Hey, my helmet!" He leaned down and picked it up, barley avoiding tipping over.

Beret sighed. "You are not the person I pictured when Aless described you." That got Ben's attention.

"You a part of team…" It took Ben a moment to remember the name. "Beverage?"

"CFVY, yeah. Coco Adel." She didn't offer him a hand to shake but she did lower her sunglasses slightly. "You eat yet?"

"You just found me passed out in the hallway." Ben gestured back to where he had been asleep. "When would I have gotten the chance to eat?"

Coco shrugged one shoulder. "I was just on my way to scrounge up some food myself" She gestured off, presumably in the direction of the cafeteria. "you wanna tag along?"

Ben grunted in what might have been accepted as an answer and started off in the direction of the food.

"How much did you drink?" Coco walked at his side slightly in front of him.

Ben made to answer but was interrupted by a female voice coming from his speakers. " _More than is healthy or should have been possible!"_ Both Coco and Ben jumped in shock at the sudden, very loud, voice, Ben almost had a heart attack. He had forgotten she was in his armour. " _Frankly, I'm surprised you even woke up!_ _ **It was actually pretty impressive that the bird was able to keep up with you. I think that bartender said something about closing up shop until he could restock."**_

After a moment to calm down Ben finally spoke. "The usual amount."

Coco looked to him and raised one eyebrow. "Who was that?"

"It's a long story you don't need to hear. It's actually kinda boring, don't bother." Ben waited for her to start walking again so he could follow slightly behind. He had yet to learn the layout of the school, not that it would have helped him much in his current state.

The cafeteria was thankfully mostly empty, only the early risers there. Team coffee appeared to be one of said teams, all assembled at one of the tables.

They all gave various levels of greetings that Ben tried to return, albeit half heatedly.

"Benny boy, don't know if you remember everyone's names from our first meeting bu-" Coco was interrupted by a soft beeping sound as she pulled up her scroll. She seemed like she was gonna go on until she saw what information the text contained.

The group waited in silence for the girl to finish the much needed introductions. She had been right and Ben had no idea what the group was called.

"Why didn't you say anything about Aless?" were the first words Coco said after reading the message.

Ben stared at her for a moment. "You found me passed out in a hallway with a hangover… what makes you think I'll be remembering to inform everyone I meet about the whereabouts of my friends?"

Coco seemed like she wanted to argue that point but couldn't find any logical reason to be mad. She sighed. "She's awake and taking visitors now."

Ben was already standing and moving towards the door before she could finish.

"Tell her we'll be by to see her later!" Ben wasn't sure who yelled the words, he knew the voice wasn't Coco's so he assumed it belonged to the other female. In the end he didn't care much. He had somewhere to be.

There was probably something to be said about the fact that Ben could find his way to the infirmary better than the cafeteria, but as a result he made excellent time.

The door opened and the lead doctor he had never learned the name of let addressed him. He had to stop himself from running over to the curtain.

"She'll be fine, but you need to know a few things." Be waited patiently for her to continue. "Her legs are going to be fine but she needs to keep off them for quite some time. She should stay off her legs entirely for at least a week, maybe two. After that she needs to keep activity low for a month." He doubted Aless would approve, Ben made a silent vow to force the doctors recommendations on her… somehow. "Other than that she will be ok."

Ben waited a second more before stepping through the curtain.

Aless' eyes snapped up to him in an instance before she quickly looked away. The room was silent for a second as Ben removed his helmet.

"How you doing Aless?" Ben pulled one of the chairs over to the bedside and sat in it.

"I'm fine, nothing major." She refused to look up at him. "I'll be good in a few days." She hastily tacked on.

"No, you won't. At least not for a while." Ben sighed. "The doc gave me the rundown of your injuries, she says you'll be down for at least two weeks probably more."

"I'm fine Ben." Aless finally looked up to meet his eyes. "I'm a Spartan remember? I'll be up in a week, probably sooner." The smile on her face was honest. She believed what she said.

" _I find that highly unlikely!"_ The A.I's voice spoke from the speakers, startling both of them. " _Your healing factor, as well as your all round durability, is greatly diminished!"_ Aless' smile died a swift death.

"What does that mean?" Ben ignored the hint of desperation in Aless' voice.

" _ **You'll be down for a month, easy. Maybe longer if you try to push yourself, which you probably will."**_

"That doesn't make sense. I've never needed that long for an injury before." Aless shook her head slightly. "You must be mis-"

" _Your leg received severe injury and was broken in two locations!"_ There was a moment of silence as the A.I. thought about something. " _It would appear a number of your Spartan augmentations have ceased function! As well as a percentage of your genetic modifications!_ _ **The fact you can still do everything you do is… it doesn't make much sense."**_

The room was silent again. Ben watched Aless' eyes carefully as the information sunk in.

"I'm… not a Spartan anymore?" The emotion behind her words could be summarized as painful.

" _That's not actually the case! You are still a Spartan, I am merely unable to identify how you are able to be!_ _ **I'll admit it doesn't make sense. A lot of the power is still there but I don't know whats causing it."**_ The A.I. paused once more. " _ **You'll still need time to heal."**_

Ben let loose a breath he had been holding when he saw the hope come back to Aless' eyes. The smile that came to her face was weak but it was there. He decided to shift the conversation onto easier topics.

"Team latte wanted me to tell you hi, they'll be along later to see you. Classes and what not." Aless seemed confused for a moment.

"Team CFVY." Aless said. "Spelled C, F, V, Y."

"That doesn't spell coffee, I feel lied to." Ben leaned back into the chair. "That's just false advertising."

Aless scoffed. "You don't have to make everything into a joke." She tried to hide the smile that came to her face but Ben noticed.

"Who will if not I?" Ben smirked. "We both know you can't tell a joke to save your life."

Aless crossed her arms and huffed. If he was being generous he might have said the look on her face was a pout.

The curtain ruffled quietly and the doctor stepped in. Ben looked over in her direction, though he kept his eyes on Aless.

"Aless needs her rest" The doctor looked to him. "I have to a-"

"No worries doc, I'll get out of your hair." Ben sighed, already standing.

"You could stay a little longer" Aless assured him "I'm not even tired." she struggled to fight back a yawn immediately after. Ben found it rather cute.

"An hour, that's all. I'm just gonna go grab some food and then come back." Ben met her eyes. "In the meantime, get some rest." Ben stood and moved to the exit. "I won't be going anywhere else, there and back."

Aless leaned back slightly and looked at him. "I'll be here." She tried to sound relaxed but it sounded more worried than anything.

He considered staying but he knew she wouldn't sleep if he did. So he made the hard choice and left, promising both himself and her that he would return swiftly.

He was surprised to run into a familiar face on his way to the cafeteria, and by run into he meant literally. They collided as he rounded the corner.

Ben stumbled slightly, more out of shock than anything else, the beret clad teenager was not so lucky and would have fallen to the floor were it not for Ben catching her hand before she could.

"You should really watch where you're going you know." Coco smiled showing she meant nothing by it. "You should also stop wearing the robot suit in the halls. Almost broke my sunglasses when I run into you."

"What a loss it would have been." Ben rolled his eyes and began to head to the cafeteria. "What are you doing here? Aren't classes in session?"

Coco followed behind. "Ports class is. He won't notice though."

"Skipping class, such a classic." Ben chuckled softly at his own memories of doing much the same.

"How was Robo Girl?"

"What's with the nicknames? ."

"It's easier to remember nicknames." Coco shrugged. "Some people don't fit the name they were given, so I give them a new one. She's a good example of that, doesn't look like an Aless to me."

"Got one for me yet?" Ben asked. "Something cool maybe?"

"Don't know enough about you yet." Coco shrugged once more. "So how was she?"

"She'll be fine." Ben sighed. "She's a little frustrated about having to stay there for a few weeks though."

"A few weeks?" Coco raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it wasn't bad?"

"It's not that bad, nothing that won't heal. I think it's more because they want to make sure she stays down."

"She wouldn't listen to the docs?" Coco scoffed. "She always struck me as the following instructions kinda girl."

"More like she would risk her own health thinking she was fine when she wasn't." Ben sighed. "She wants to be helpful, prove she's fine. That drive is helpful most the time but in this case it's not."

"Yeah I get it." Coco nodded. "She wants to be busy."

"It's… a little bit more than that." Ben said. "If you spend enough time with her you'll begin to notice."

"The whole deeper meaning behind every actions mentality?"

Ben smirked. "So you have gotten to know her a little bit. It's partly that, yeah." He took a second to think. "Aless… doesn't really understand people, as I'm sure you've noticed. She has to prove that she can be useful to those she trusts but doesn't understand what accomplishes that."

Coco hummed to show she was following his logic.

"When you look in her eyes you can almost see it." Ben smiled softly. "After all she's seen she still has an innocence to her, a naive outlook when it come to people… it doesn't make much sense really… you'd think her a cynic but she isn't, she's one of the kindest people I've ever met… once she gets to know you of course."

"That's not such a bad thing though, right?"

Ben sighed. "That remains to be seen. It will depend on how she copes with our situation."

There was a minute of silence as the two walked down the hall.

Coco finally spoke up. "Gonna guess it's some kind of classified stuff?"

"Something like that." Ben responded. "Might be able to tell you one day but not today."

Coco shrugged one shoulder. "Suppose that's fair, you don't really know me."

There was another moment of silence in the conversation.

"I never thanked you." Coco was caught off guard by the statement but Ben continued before she could ask any questions. "You and your team took care of her while I was… indisposed."

"You were comatose." Coco smirked "And you don't have to thank me though."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Thanks nonetheless. Aless has never been good at meeting people, she has a habit of ignoring those she can get away with doing so to. You lot forced her out of her shell somewhat, thanks."

"It wasn't entirely us." Coco's familiar smirk returned. "The guys flirting with her might have had something to do with it."

Ben stopped in the middle of the hall.

"Oh didn't she tell you? She's pretty popular among the male part of the student body." Coco thought for a moment. "I doubt she noticed actually."

"How many?" Ben asked. "How many actually made moves for her?"

"Eh, three or four approached her about it but Yats and Vel sto-" Coco stopped as Ben upholstered his pistol and counted the bullets in the mag.

"How many bullets do you think it takes to overpower Aura?"

* * *

 _Alessandra West  
_ _Beacon Infirmary_

The day had been an interesting one. Shortly after Ben had left Aless had fallen asleep, much to her embarrassment. She really wasn't that tired. She concluded the Doctor must have given her something for it.

True to what Ben had promised, he was there when she woke up. He had been dragged off by the Headmistress for some kind of meeting with the headmaster not to long after Aless had woken back up. She hadn't been left alone for long, Team CFVY had come by every chance they had. They dropped off a few assignments from the professors and some food around lunch time when their day was done.

In truth Aless felt a little uncomfortable at first. While she was forced to sit in the bed she actually had to look up to them, something she was not used to. She appreciated the company nonetheless. Ben had come back as soon as he could

"So how long will you be stuck here?" Currently it was just Coco and Ben in the room.

"Not long, I he-"

"She'll be down for a couple weeks, at least." Ben was quick to disagree with her, sending a glare in her direction. "The doc wants her to take it easy for a month or two after that though."

Aless met Ben's eyes. "That's just an unnecessary precaution. I'll be fi-"

"She'll be down for two weeks." Coco directed her response to Ben. "I'll make sure of it"

Ben nodded to her. "If she resists come get me. I _might_ be able to force her… maybe." He didn't look certain.

Aless sighed. "I'll stay down for as long as the doctor says." Coco and Ben exchanged looks of disbelief between themselves.

"You want help watching her?" Coco ignored the pointed glare Aless sent her way.

"Please." Ben did much the same.

"You have my scroll info right?" Coco pulled said device out and shook it.

"I do, yeah. Got it from Aless." Ben gestured to the bed ridden soldier.

"I told you I would listen to the doctor." Aless said between clenched teeth and glared at the wall.

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Ben smiled. "Don't go breaking yourself any more than you already have. I don't know what I'd do without you." He looked back to Coco. "Do you know where we can get a tv?"

Even though Aless was annoyed at the fact they talked about her like she was a child, she couldn't help but smile at their concern.

* * *

 _Jackson Rodriguez  
_ _Romans Hideout_

Jax sat at the table paying little attention to what was going on around him. For the most part Roman's men weren't that powerful, save for Neo, and he didn't really hold any hope that they would be useful in the coming heist.

Instead Jax focused his attention on Neo. More specifically the scroll in her hands. She had started playing a game recently that was actually pretty interesting. He had been asked by Roman, and ordered by Davis, to aid in the heist in order to repay some of their debts. Personally Jax thought Davis was more trying to prove themselves useful than anything else.

"Did you all get that?" Roman directed his question to his men.

Most of the men nodded yes, most.

"Are those two even paying attention?" He spoke like he had dismissed the two of them as a threat. It was actually fairly amusing given the fact Neo could probably kill him in one punch.

Neo looked up from her scroll at Roman. He nodded to her and she returned it before focusing back on the game.

"Yes they did." Roman turned back to the man. "Complain again and you're fired." The man promptly sat down. "Any other words of idiocy?" no one made to speak. "Good." Roman puffed on his cigar before continuing. "Let's talk transportation. You'll be procuring three Bullheads from Vales finest for the job, more disposable and what not."

"Where are we supposed to find three police bullheads?" It wasn't the man from earlier.

"Simple, I'm Roman Torchwick" He gestured to Neo with his cigar. "Those two will be procuring the actual vehicle while the rest of you stand watch." He gestured to Jax and Neo once more. "Don't screw it up. You're free to waste your time for an hour while the big kids get ready."

Most of the people left the room leaving Jax alone with Neo and Roman.

"You'll be meeting a cop I own who will let you in. should be straight forward." Roman flicked his scroll out to show them a picture of their contact. "Get in, get the bullheads ready and bring in the pilots. Shouldn't take more than twenty minutes." He turned to leave but stopped at the door. "Oh one last thing. Can't kill anyone this time round." Roman left the room immediately.

Neo looked disappointed at the news. Jax nugged her arm slightly.

"If no one important dies we'll get ice cream." Roman yelled from a safe distance and Neo perked up.

* * *

 **Authors Note: The ending felt really weak to me… just doesn't have a solid point to it I feel. Eh, probably just writers hate. I encourage you to review and let me know your own thoughts.**

 **Sincerely SE**


End file.
